The Will Born in Fire
by EdStargazer
Summary: A fleeing spy attacks the Academy after Naruto has failed his second attempt at passing the Genin Exam. Naruto is the hero of the moment but for every heroic act there is a price to be paid. Chaper 36 Homeward Bound?
1. Born In Fire

_I do not own Naruto or intend to profit from this work. I only allowed the creations of someone else dance thru my imagination and they will be returned unharmed and unchanged after this flight of fancy._

**The Will Born in Fire**

The spy fled from the ANBU pursuing him. He knew that the masked operatives would catch him before long unless they were distracted somehow. His path took him over a yard with children playing. 'A school. Just perfect for a distraction,' He pulled out several kunai with explosive tags and hurled them at different windows that had class in session.

Naruto carried his few school possessions as the teacher led him to a new classroom. 'Failed a second time. I wish I could figure out how to do those stupid graduation jutsu. I did everything like Saito-sensei showed me and nothing worked. Maybe I am dead last like the other kids call me.'

"Cheer up Naruto. This class will be kids your own age this time instead of older ones like the first 2," the teacher said with a half hearted smile.

Naruto looked up at the teacher, focusing for a moment on the large scar across the man's nose. "I know, Iruka-sensei. I just wi-."

The explosion threw a door across the hallway and crushed both Naruto and Iruka into the wall. Iruka had taken the brunt of the impact and slumped unconscious next to the stunned blonde boy. The shouts of children filled the halls as they panicked and bolted from classrooms or merely lay stunned and wounded from the multiple explosions. In the science lab, spilled chemicals for flash bombs mixed uncontrolled and exploded in a larger fashion. The fireball filled the nearby hallways igniting anything that would burn and spread quickly.

Most of the ANBU pursuing the fleeing spy reversed course to head back to the school. The one wearing a dog mask increased speed and growled as he closed in on the enemy who would hurt children.

Naruto knew he needed to get out of the building. He looked at the man at his feet and back to the approaching flames. The teacher would die if Naruto just left. Naruto grabbed an arm and began dragging Iruka to the nearest exit. Other children just ran past without helping and nearly tramped the pair. As the flames closed in at the door, Naruto got Iruka into the open. The ANBU who had stopped as well as the teachers were directing Suiton jutsu at the flames but the heat of burning gas and chemicals minimized their efforts. Naruto got sprayed with a light blast of water as he exited and another teacher dragged Iruka further from the building. Screams of terror sounded from the open door behind Naruto.

'Those are little kids.' Naruto thought. Without a thought, he turned and ran back into the inferno.

The classroom a few doors in had a burning desk blocking the door. A dozen children about eight years old were trapped behind the flaming barricade. Naruto pushed the burning desk aside and let the children flee down the hallway. The blonde cringed in pain as the heat seared the flesh on his palms. One boy was huddled in the corner behind a burning joist. Naruto knew he could not move it enough to pull the cowering boy out. 'Kuso' he cursed in his head as his burnt hands painfully formed the hand seals for a kawarmi. The jutsu actually worked for a change and Naruto found himself in the corner with the young boy free. "RUN! Get out of here, kid!" Naruto yelled. The kid ran out, his strangely long scarf trailing behind.

Naruto made the hand signs again and switched places with a desk, freeing himself. 'I got it to work twice in a row, sweet' the blonde grinned. He got past the small flames in the room to get to the teacher. The teacher lay with her leg at an unnatural angle. Naruto knew the woman was not dead so he picked her up and carried her into the hallway. An ANBU took the woman from him and told him to get out of the building quickly. Another explosion rumbled from above. Naruto turned to follow the cloaked man when several kids his own age stumbled down the stairs.

The dark haired one led the way. His look of panic and the speed of his exit showed he cared little for the ones following him. Behind him came a pair of boys, one very plump and the other with a pineapple shaped pony tail atop his head supporting a blonde girl. Another pair of boys came after along with a pink haired girl.

"Where's Hinata?" the pink haired one cried out as another explosion rocked the building. Naruto shouted, "Just go, I'll get her." He ran up the stairs. The flames were even more intense on the second floor. Several fallen and burning joists littered the hallway and Naruto could see sky thru the smoke above. Naruto looked into several classrooms as the smoke got thicker and the building made ominous creaking sounds.

After a few minutes of searching the pained whimpering of a girl could be heard amid the crackle of the flames. Naruto moved past several fallen timbers and found the girl. "You must be Hinata." Naruto said quietly. The girl looked up at the blonde. Her pearl colored eyes met his blue ones. 'Wow, she's beautiful.' he thought.

The girl whimpered in pain again. "My leg is stuck." Naruto looked at the burning joist holding her leg. The leg itself was badly broken under the weight of the beam. Naruto saw that he could lift it but it would mean getting burned even more. He pulled off his orange jacket and laid it over Hinata's face and upper body to shield her from the falling debris as well as the sight to come.

Moving his body under the burning timber he raised himself up against the beam. The sound and smell of flesh being burnt made Hinata cringe but the weight lifted from her leg. She dragged herself away a few feet from the place she had been trapped but could get no further before passing out.

Naruto saw Hinata was clear and began to lower the beam when his jaw felt like it exploded. A second kick then impacted his chest, crushing it against the flaming beam. Several of Naruto's ribs cracked under the impact. An axe kick hit his head and sent him to the ground. Naruto managed to look up at the man who had kicked him. "Now I get to kill me a demon brat." The gray haired teacher had several small burns on his body but Naruto recognized Mizuki-sensei.

"Mizuki-sensei? Why?"

"You might not remember it but you are the monster that nearly destroyed the village eleven years ago. Naruto you are the nine tailed demon fox, Kyuubi no Yoko. Now you are going to die!" Mizuki's rant was cut off with a gurgle as the dog masked ANBU cut his throat from behind. Naruto just closed his eyes as blackness claimed him.

* * *

The village council of Konoha was filled with shouts. The attack and fire at the school had killed twenty four students, five teachers and left dozens injured. Of the injured, fourteen students still remained in the hospital. Only one remained with life threatening injuries. The building itself had burnt to the ground. The stories of what had happened were spreading faster than the truth. Sadly, it was the rumors that had brought many out to the council meeting tonight.

It was rumored that a fire had been started by a certain blonde haired boy. The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed softly as the ANBU in the dog mask finished his report regarding the enemy ninja that really did the damage. The enemy was currently in the company of one Morino Ibiki. His death would be long and painful at Ibiki's hands.

In the back of the room, a civilian stood up and yelled, "Why did you save that demon brat…"

His rant was cut off as a kunai impacted his shoulder. "If another person maligns Uzumaki Naruto like that again, I will not use a warning." The low voice of the Hokage seemed to echo across the chamber. "That boy is a hero. Not only has his sacrifice protected this village from the day he was born, but yesterday he personally saved the lives of his teacher, the Hyuuga heir and a dozen first year students; one of whom is my grandson. In doing that, he sustained life threatening injuries as well as an assault on his person by a trusted member of the school staff. If he were a demon he would have sat outside and watched, not been inside the inferno saving lives. Naruto truly has the will of fire that many in this village are lacking. I personally will question the loyalty of any who speaks against him without cause from this day onward." Murmurs from the crowd rose again as the Hokage walked out.

* * *

In the hospital's intensive care ward, the blonde lay comatose on his stomach. The nurses came hourly to check on his condition and look over his burns. His hands had suffered badly with deep sores on the palms from the burning desk. His breath came labored as his ribs were still cracked from Mizuki's kick. The medics could not tape them as the burns on his back needed treatment.

Even after several visits by the medic ninja, his back was an open wound. The skin has been seared and destroyed completely through down to the muscles in most places. It looked like skin grafts would be needed to repair the damage. Normal wounds like cuts they still had the flesh intact to knit together. But with these burns, the tissue was completely destroyed. They were forced to make the body grew new muscle and skin. The best the medics had been able to do so far is re-grow some skin along the edges but this exhausted them after just minutes. Nearly a six inch wide band of flesh still remained to be healed. Even the legendary Tsunade would have trouble healing that wound quickly.

Next to him sat a young girl. Hinata kept leaving her bed to come back to sit near him. The bulky cast on her leg had several markings from well wishers already but she paid little attention to the happy drawings. She only wanted to see those blue eyes open and look at her again.

"You should really be getting some rest, Hinata" said a voice from behind her. Hinata looked to see the Hokage standing there.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I just want to see him get better. One of the nurses told me that the building collapsed less than a minute after ANBU-san carried us from the building. If this boy hadn't come for me I would be dead right now. My cousin Neji had mentioned a blonde haired boy in the Academy. Who is he?"

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto. He is a very special young man, Hinata. Tell you what; I will have the nurses tell you when he wakes up so you can get to know him better. He could use a person like you as a friend." The Hokage then signaled one of the nurses to return Hinata to her own room.

Sarutobi stood there for long minutes after the nurse left with the girl. He just looked at the unmoving face of Naruto and hoped that the boy would wake soon. With all the energy Naruto normally had, seeing the boy motionless like this seemed unnatural.

* * *

Naruto woke slowly to find himself in a dank sewer lit by a dim red light. The hot heavy air did not really smell but it seemed to move slightly. In the distance he could hear breathing. Moving through the passages, eventually he came to an open area and saw a cage door rising up into the darkness. In the dark depths beyond the cage he saw a set of eyes looking at him.

"**So, my jailor has decided to visit. How nice.**"

"Jailor? What do you mean? Is this some kind of weird dream?"

A deep rumbling chuckle sounded "**If only it were. Then I would be able to wake up from it. But this is no dream, boy. I am stuck here in this cage, unless you free me from it. You just have to pull off that seal on the door and you will never have to worry about anything ever again.**"

Naruto noticed the seal on the cage door now. He moved closer to look at it before touching it. The touch tingled slightly and the seal felt warm under his fingers.

"**That's it boy. Now just rip it off of there. That will fix everything**."

Naruto stopped at the tone the voice was using. "This doesn't seem right."

"**JUST TAKE IT OFF THE DOOR, BOY**!" Naruto backed up at the face of a snarling fox appeared around the eyes glaring at him. "**I WILL NOT REMAIN CAGED BY A MERE BOY. I WILL BE FREE OF THIS TO CONTINUE MY WRATH UPON THAT WORTHLESS VILLAGE**."

Naruto just shook his head and kept backing up from the beast in the cage. Then, turning down one of the passages, Naruto fled.

* * *

Pain. Naruto opened his eyes again and only felt pain. His eyes cracked open to only see the floor. He lifted his head from the bracket it had been in and looked around His back was in more pain than he could ever remember having. The time he had gotten beaten up by some bullies paled in comparison. He groaned softly as he tried to move. Bands seemed to hold down his arms and legs to keep him in place. The air moving across his bare back seemed to burn as it passed by

Another groan sounded as a nurse came up next to him. "Naruto, you're in the hospital. You got badly injured in the fire at the school. Are you in a lot of pain?"

Naruto just nodded as the nurse adjusted something he could not see. "The pain should go down some soon. I have to go tell some people you have woken up."

Naruto opened again his eyes slowly and turned his head to look at his hands. They were bandaged tightly so he could not see the damage but they hurt only slightly compared to his back. Soon a bustle of activity that he could not see was going on. The bed began to rise up at his head so he could see people feet then bodies and finally faces. The smiling face of the Hokage was before him. "Hey old man, how's it going?"

Sarutobi chuckled. "Naruto, you seem to get into the worst trouble sometimes."

"You know me old man, if you want to get recognized, get in trouble."

"Well, what do you remember before you got in here, Naruto?"

Naruto was very groggy from pain and medication so he just stumbled along talking about the explosion, fire and his activity during it. Then without pause he told about the sewer and the giant fox and seal. "He called me his jailor, old man. What does that mean?" he asked in a confused voice.

The doctors and nurses in the room were all struck silent by what the boy had said. Most civilians believed he was simply the demon reincarnate with the power sealed away. The ninja trained medics knew better but still feared the boy was controlled by the demon he imprisoned. Between the boy's actions a few days prior and what the boy had just said made a few begin to rethink their own views.

Sarutobi sighed softly. "I had hoped for a few more years to pass before you found out about this Naruto. Eleven years ago, on the day you were born the village had been attacked by the Kyuubi no Yoko, the Nine Tailed demon fox."

"Yeah, the teachers at school talked about that. The Fourth killed it but died beating it," Naruto said, glad he had paid attention to that detail.

"That is the official story Naruto. The truth is even the Fourth was not strong enough to kill the creature. No mortal can kill a demon that powerful. Instead, the Fourth sealed the essence of the beast into a newborn baby. Naruto, he sealed the beast…"

"Into me, didn't he? That is why the thing in the cage called me his jailor, isn't it?"

"Yes Naruto, it is. I am sorry. I wish we had been able to keep that information a secret when you were a baby but somehow word got around. I had to ban all mention of the sealing from you and all people are forbidden to speak of it. I wish they had treated you better but even the power of a Hokage has limits."

Naruto thought in silence for a few minutes before replying. "Don't sweat it, old man. You did the best you could, I guess. That just means I have to work harder to get your job away from you. No demon fox is gonna stop me from being Hokage someday."

Sarutobi chuckled at Naruto's comment. "I think you just might make it with that attitude, Naruto." A muffled squeak sounded from the hallway as a wheelchair slid into view. Sarutobi looked and smiled again. "Come in Hinata."

The dark haired girl rolled into the room in a wheelchair, her leg wrapped in a cast. "Naruto, you have met Hinata already but let me introduce you officially. Naruto, meet Hyuuga Hinata, heir to the Hyuuga clan. Hinata meet Uzumaki Naruto, legacy of the Fourth and aspirant to the title of Hokage."

Both preteens blushed at the formal introduction and murmured a hello at each other as Sarutobi walked out of the room to let them visit. "How's the leg doing, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"It is healing fine, Naruto. The medics healed the burns and the bones but are waiting a few days for it to get stronger before taking off the cast. Um, how is your back doing?"

"It hurts, a lot. The doctors gave me something that makes it hurt less but it makes it hard to think. No big deal there since I can barely think anyway." Naruto gave a weak grin at his joke until he saw the sad look on Hinata's face.

"What's wrong Hinata? You're too pretty to be looking so sad."

Hinata bit her lip and tears began to run from her eyes. "You should not have gotten hurt like this because of me. If I had not been so weak and gotten trapped, you would not have had to save me," she said in a rush.

Naruto paled for a moment before getting upset and retorting, "That's bullshit, Hinata! You're not weak because you got trapped. Anyone who says otherwise it full of it. When I found you, you were trying to get free. Your leg was broken and burnt but you weren't crying then. That's not someone who's weak. That's someone who fights what happens to them."

"But I cannot even defeat my six year old sister at taijutsu, Naruto. My father says that I am an embarrassment to the clan. I … I just cannot bring myself to strike her," she finished lamely.

"Having a kind heart is not a weakness Hinata." The voice of Sarutobi said from behind the pair. "It is the first step to having the Will of Fire. It is the will to protect those who are precious to you. You do not wish to harm someone precious to you. That is an admirable trait, not one to be suppressed."

Hinata nodded slowly. She was not entirely believing the Hokage but also not willing to contradict him. Naruto nodded as well but his eyes were dropping and he rested his head back on the headrest under his forehead.

"You will see one day Hinata. When you protect the people precious to you, the true power of a Konoha ninja is revealed. But for now, I think Naruto is fading on us. He has a battle of his own to fight over the next few weeks and his strength is not at its best right now."

"May I sit here for a little longer with Naruto?" the girl asked.

"For a little while, Hinata. But when the nurses say it is time to go, you listen. Even a Hokage cannot over-ride them on that."

* * *

(Edited and reposted)


	2. Born in Protecting

I do not own Naruto but then again I barely own anything as it is.

**The Will Born in Protecting**

Naruto's back healed slowly. The medics tried to take skin grafts from other places on his body but the skin patches simply died after being applied over the burn. They were forced to heal the wound with chakra. With the skin destroyed, the medics had to continue to forcibly re-grow the skin from the edges. It was painful for Naruto and the time consuming work drained even the strongest medic nins in minutes. At night, Naruto would dream of the cage and could hear a rumbling laughter. When Hinata was released from the hospital a week after the fire, there was still a four-inch wide area across most of his back that was not healed yet.

* * *

The pale-eyed girl said she would visit when she could but she knew her father would never permit it. Propriety and appearance were more important than feelings to the Hyuuga. The day after her release, Hinata was being woken early to family training. The doctors had said no sparring for another week and even Hiashi knew enough not to push things. The clan medic had agreed with the diagnosis that overtaxing Hinata's leg would make the recovery time longer. That did not keep the clan head from having Hinata do slow forms and range of motion exercises while he supervised Hinata's younger sister Hanabi's training.

The younger girl sparred with a branch member while Hiashi used a pointer to tap at Hanabi's form to correct it. Each tap meant that Hanabi had to stop and move in the correct manner twice before continuing the spar. The clan head frowned as he tapped his younger daughter once more. Hinata knew her forms well enough that she could perform them without a tap. Hiashi looked at his older daughter do her exercises off to one side and kept himself from sighing. It was in live sparring that her problems arose. The weakness was not in her technique. It was in a combination of her small size and her will to perform them. Somehow, Hiashi knew he had to find a way to get Hinata to find the confidence to overcome those flaws.

A clamor arose to the side of the training area. Hiashi turned towards it and activated his clan's bloodline; the Byakugan. His pale eyes would appear like those of a blind person to an ignorant civilian but they were a sign of a powerful dojutsu. Veins bulged on his temples chakra and blood surged into the eyes. His vision faded to a black and white world while chakra stood out as the only color. He spied something amiss to his left and turned as a trio of ninja appeared and hurled explosive tagged kunai at the training Hyuuga. Hiashi knew he could not immediately protect himself with the Kaiten because that would push Hanabi away, likely causing severe injury.

Events happened quickly.

The branch family member jumped between the kunai and the main family.

Hiashi grabbed Hanabi and pushed her to the ground at his feet. He focused his chakra and prepared to begin his Kaiten spin.

Hinata was further away so she went to one knee and crossed her arms in an X before her body, pumping chakra from her tenketsu points to form a defensive barrier without spinning.

Two of the kunai struck the branch member and exploded; throwing him across the training field to land in a bloody heap.

The third kunai landed next to Hiashi and exploded. A massive flash and bang filled the area. The chakra-enhanced explosion of light and sound was made worse on Hiashi with his Byakugan active. He saw the flash surround himself and Hanabi, stunning father and child while knocking Hiashi to the ground.

The three mystery ninja quickly closed in and one began to pick up Hanabi while a second approached Hiashi with a kunai on hand. The third came at Hinata almost causally as she was still in her defensive crouch. It was his last mistake as Hinata made two perfect juuken strikes on the man's thighs, closing down the man's ability to use his legs. As the man fell, she followed up with another chakra-enhanced strike to the temple, killing the man instantly.

"Oh, the weakling still has some fight in her." The leader crooned as he lifted the stunned Hanabi. He was not aware of his man being dead yet, only thinking him stunned. "Too bad she is going to die along with her daddy. The little one here will fetch a high price from the Cloud village."

"You will not touch them!" shouted Hinata as she leapt toward the ninja about to cut Hiashi's throat. The ninja stood back up as Hinata closed in. He did not seem to think Hinata a threat until he noticed his comrade was not breathing. He cursed silently. The supposedly weak girl had already taken down one of their number and if he left himself open to kill Hiashi, he could die himself. The kunai thrust out at Hinata who parried the blade as her training had taught her.

Hinata focused and made her attack. She had not mastered the Divine 64 strikes yet so she did the best she could. Hinata was at the thirty two strikes stage before her weak leg gave out. Even so, the first thirty two blows had all hit and the ninja fell stunned with the tenketsu to his arms and legs all shut down. The fatal blows would have been in the last series of strikes.

The leader growled as his second man fell to this so-called weakling of the Hyuuga. Holding Hanabi under one arm he prepared to leap away. The wounded branch member now got into the fray with a thrown kunai. He had pulled it from his own wound and sent it back at the attacker striking the kidnapper's calf; preventing the man from escaping immediately. However, the branch member could not follow up due to his own injuries and lack of weapons.

The kidnapper pulled the kunai from his calf and wasted precious seconds to inspect the wound. He would be able to fight but not run off quickly. His hostage would have to insure his escape.

Hinata took the opportunity to regain her feet and close in on the enemy. "You will drop my sister and surrender yourself." The voice dripped with malice and barely contained anger.

Hiashi was shocked at the tone in his daughter's voice. This was a Hinata no one in the clan had ever seen. Her Byakugan had activated after the initial explosion with no hand signs and her voice carried a tone that even impressed Hiashi as he was struggling to get to his feet. Shouts closed in on the training field as the guards were reacting to the explosions.

Barely thirty seconds had passed since the first explosion.

Hinata sidestepped to keep Hanabi on the far side of the ninja and his kunai needed to defend against an attack. Hiashi managed to stand but could barely maintain his balance and had blood coming from one ear due to a ruptured eardrum.

'Just another fifteen seconds. I just have to keep him occupied for another fifteen seconds,' Hinata thought.

The missing nin knew his time was running out so he put the kunai against Hanabi's throat. "You had better let me go, child, or you will be an only child again."

Hinata frowned and growled as she half stepped closer. The blade pulled back away from Hanabi's throat, showing blood on the sharp edge. Hinata charged.

The missing nin knew he could not take the time to kill Hinata and still escape so he thrust the kunai at Hinata when she charged. He expected the girl to attempt a parry thus leave herself open to being kicked away but Hinata let the blade impact her forearm. It slid between the bones of her forearm. She felt no pain yet. Hinata was only focused on her goal as she lifted it up and away instead exposing the man's chest to her strike. Anger fueled her blow as she pumped too much chakra into her strike. The insides of the missing nin's chest almost liquefied under the amount of chakra Hinata hit him with.

Hiashi had managed to get his Byakugan active once more and saw the hand of his older daughter nearly glowing as she overloaded the tenketsu in her hand; burning it with the amount of energy flowing through it. The missing nin fell like a brick. Hinata fell to her knees and pulled the still Hanabi close to herself and began to cry in relief. The blood on the kunai was only from a slight cut. Guards flooded the area as Hiashi reached his daughters and wrapped his arms around them both.

* * *

ANBU and medical ninja were summoned. The one surviving missing nin was bound and taken for interrogation. The bodies of the other two were removed for examination. The three Hyuuga main family members were rushed to the hospital. Aside from the cut on her neck, Hanabi was basically unharmed as she had only been stunned by the opening attack. Hiashi had a ruptured eardrum and eye strain from having his Byakugan active when the flash-bang went off. Hinata was admitted again due to her hand being covered in chakra burns and the deep knife wound to her forearm.

The captured kidnapper quickly broke under interrogation. His team had been working with the spy and slipped into Konoha with him. Their original plan had been to take one of Hiashi's daughters or an unmarked baby boy when ANBU was distracted with a theft by the spy. However, the fire and the increased security afterward had left them trapped inside of Konoha. They had waited and became more desperate until they just attacked the Hyuuga compound. A pair of bored Hyuuga sentries had died in the process.

* * *

After things were settled down, Hiashi went to see Hinata. The girl sat as erect as she could in her bed for her father as she recounted her actions. "This is difficult to understand, Hinata. You have shown poor ability against your sparring partners and lose to your sister regularly but when she and I were threatened, you reacted in a direct, clear and aggressive manner. You killed two chunnin level opponents and would have killed a third with the Divine 64 strikes had you completed it. That attack was not completed due to your leg failing from your recent injury. How could you complete those attacks when you could not demonstrate them for me against your sister?"

Hinata's head dropped down for a moment before she decided to put everything out into the open. She looked up and directly into her father's eyes.

"I do not wish to harm Hanabi-chan, Father. I see her and all I can see is Mother. Hanabi-chan has the same face as Mother. I am sorry for being weak like that, but I cannot harm her simply to demonstrate my ability."

Hinata's voice was barely above a whisper as she finished speaking but her nerve held. Hiashi just stood as he pondered his daughter's answer. "Yes, Hanabi-chan does indeed have her looks." He finally said softly. "Given how close you were to her, I am not surprised than you would let yourself see that when I would not. It seems I have a few things I need to rethink. For now, if you continue to show strength like you shown today, you will be a fine heir one day."

Hiashi bowed slightly and left Hinata alone with her thoughts. 'Father complimented me. He called me strong.' Hinata felt like dancing. It had taken almost losing her family but her father had acknowledged her.

* * *

Sarutobi hated paperwork. It mocked him on a daily basis. Some days it felt like papers would somehow become unsigned simply to jump back into the pile. Today, the cost breakdown for a replacement for the school building sat before him. The students were currently scattered around the village in whatever meeting halls and training areas could hold them. Even the meeting room in the tower was used several hours a day for instruction. They needed a central place again and quickly.

Sarutobi sighed softly. 'Our strength in numbers and quality of ninja is finally approaching the level it was at before the Kyuubi attacked and now this setback. Half of the non-clan students were withdrawn from the Academy as well. I really should have stayed retired but there is still no one worthy of the title of Hokage left in the village. Reports from Jiraiya tell me that criminals and missing nin are flocking to a new village in the Rice Country. Rock and Cloud are getting restless in the peace and have grown faster than us since the wars ended.'

'Dark days lie ahead and this time we do not have a ninja like the Fourth. We need something for the people to rally behind. Not just a single person that can be lost either. A team perhaps. One with the Will of Fire shining brightly in them. Much like the Sannin had been years ago, the ones who inspired the Fourth to become great. A new Sannin. I must get Jiraiya to contact Tsunade to see if she will return to see her old teacher. I have two people in mind already, now I need to find a third.'

**

* * *

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End Notes

: I have the first 6 chapters ready to go but I will be waiting a few days between posting in order to work on edits and continue further into the story

(Edited and Reposted)


	3. Rise of the Pranksters

Naruto is not mine but rather belongs to Hinata. She would hurt me if I said otherwise.

**Rise of the Licensed Pranksters**

Naruto flinched as he got to finally scratch. His back itched terribly and after nearly a month of healing he was finally able to do something about it. The last treatment from medics had been the day before and like each time they treated his wound, he had thanked them for their efforts on his behalf. Naruto had made many friends among the medical staff. The ones who did not like him had been quietly reassigned to other patients. The doctor and nurses who had been there the day the Hokage had talked to the boy had spread word about the boy and the demon not being the same being and that coupled with Naruto's heroic efforts at the school began to change their mind about him. At one time or another, all the members of the first year class he had saved had come in to visit along with their parents. Naruto quietly accepted the thanks and blushed at the praise he received.

Even his time for moving around had been limited but when he was allowed to walk in the hallway under supervision, he found his way to the pediatric ward. He had received many gifts from villagers and his new female fan club. A good number of the stuffed animals had gone home with smaller children and flowers graced many nurses' desks; all passed on by Naruto. He kept a box with all the cards for memories.

The only sour note had happened when one child celebrated a birthday in the hospital. The candle being lit had sent Naruto into a shivering sweat and he had to excuse himself. The sight of fire still brought a phantom pain to his back and in his nightmares he had flashbacks to the experience of being burnt.

To counter that, he gotten to spend a lot of time sitting with Hinata just talking. Her extra week in the hospital recovering from the attack on her family was spent in his company whenever possible. The shy girl blossomed under his attention as well as from the acknowledgement of her father. The boy actually sat quietly as the girl explained many things he had never learned. Many on the staff saw the pair was what the other one needed. She needed his brash confidence and energy to bring herself out of her shell while in turn her timid serenity got him to slow down and think before acting.

* * *

Sarutobi waited while a nurse led Naruto out of the hospital. "Here he is, Hokage-sama." Turning to Naruto, "Now we loved having you for a patient, Naruto, but we can honestly say we hope never to see you in here again."

Naruto just grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "I'll do my best. You never know when trouble will find me in this town." The nurse nodded and bowed to Sarutobi before going back inside.

Sarutobi walked with Naruto back to his apartment. The boy had wanted to drop off the box of cards and letters along with the few stuffed animals he had kept. Naruto noticed that several clan compounds had increased security in the wake of the attempt on the Hyuuga. He also noted some glaring flaws in one that the prankster in him could exploit. "Ah, you saw that hole in their security as well, eh Naruto?"

"Huh? Um, well that clan has never really been nice to me so I tend to, um; I had better shut up now."

Sarutobi laughed and rubbed the young blonde's head. "Actually, I had an idea on that. With the recent breaches of security in Konoha, I think a lot of our security measures should be re-evaluated. Nothing makes a proud clan take notice faster than being embarrassed. Since your 'exploits' in pranks are almost legend in the ANBU offices and you have the uncanny knack for avoiding capture by anyone less than a jonin, I want you to aid us in the security upgrades. My office will pay you to infiltrate a different clan compound each week and play a serious prank on them."

"The purpose will be two-fold. First it will reveal their security flaws and force them to improve. Second, it will give you a much finer training in stealth and infiltration than you have already. You will be provided with a scroll each week from my office to leave at the site of your prank. This will inform them that not only had they had a serious flaw in security but that the prank was authorized by the Hokage."

Naruto was almost drooling now with the idea that he was not only going to be paid to prank, but was being encouraged to do so.

"There are a few other conditions, Naruto. No more pranks outside of these official ones. You have earned a lot of goodwill from many villagers and I would hate to see that destroyed by a stink-bomb in the wrong place. You will do no permanent damage to anything or anyone. I know you have never hurt anyone in the past but there had been property damage by your pranks in a few cases. The downside of these missions is that you will have to write reports on what you saw, what you did and how you managed to infiltrate. Any other observations you make during the missions will be helpful to my office as well. Building layouts, secret passages and even access points a clan might not know about will need to be included. Anything that can be used against a compound will be reported. If you have multiple options on what prank to pull, you should add that in. Also, if you cannot finish within a week, you must still write a report on what they are doing correctly that kept you out."

"That's gonna be a lot of work, Old Man. I mean once I start in on that stuff, everyone is going to know it was me doing it. It's not like it will be a big secret after a few of them happen. Everyone is gonna be watching me like a hawk and take extra care when I'm in the area."

"Hmm, you are right. I'm glad you see the need to keep these missions a secret but I will allow you to bring one other person onto your team for planning purposes only. The actual prank may only be committed by you. Since I can tell by your look that you agree, we can discuss financial terms over ramen."

Sarutobi smiled to himself at his plan. By having Naruto doing paid pranks to test security, he would keep the boy in the village limelight. The boy needed the positive attention that so many in Konoha never gave him. He had spent so many years wasting his skills in mean spirited pranks for negative attention. The boy had skills in certain areas but Sarutobi would turn them toward the benefit of both Konoha and Naruto. Yes, a focused Naruto was a dangerous Naruto. It was one step on the way towards the completion of his plan.

* * *

Over the next few months, the assignment to Naruto would make him a legend among pranksters. The pranks on the smaller clans went off with without a hitch. Several of the more renowned clans had some serious embarrassments. The Nara found several prize deer painted according to cuts of meat. The Akimichi found all of their canned food labels removed and the cans made into a diorama of Konoha. One clan that was known for crafting weapons had awakened to find all their anvils piled in the rock garden.

No clan was spared from Naruto's testing but three managed to prevent his pranks. The Inuzuka, the Aburame and the Hyuuga had security that foiled his pranks and the Hokage knew about it. Naruto did however give good critiques on what he did find. If he had been allowed to leave damage or do harm he could have pulled off several plots quite easily. The Inuzuka could have been done in by stink bombs that Naruto provided plans for in his report. The Aburame's bugs could be defeated by sonic attacks and the Hyuuga were vulnerable to eye irritants.

Many clans were outraged at first by the pranks until they found the Hokage's scroll at the site. In each case, Naruto had struck at the one thing each clan did best. Sarutobi pointed out that in each case, Naruto had done something that if it had been an enemy could have done great damage to the prestige of the clan. The Nara deer were prized for the medicines the horns could provide. The Akimichi food consumption was legendary and if Naruto had been an enemy the entire clan could be dead from poison. In each case, the clan head had a meeting with the Hokage. Naruto was in attendance and would apologize for the prank as he had done it under orders before outlining the methods he used to commit them.

After the first round of pranks had completed, Sarutobi had him hit a random guard tower each night as well as try to pull something during the day on the gates. The improved security reaped rewards quickly. Spies and missing nin that tried to infiltrate Konoha found a welcome they did not like and many were captured. Morino Ibiki was almost in tears of joy with the number of enemy ninja he got to 'play' with.

Six months after the first round of pranks, Sarutobi had Naruto do it again. Far fewer missions could be completed and the clans that kept Naruto out began to show pride in their being 'Naruto-proof'. Of course the Inuzuka made sure to mention that they always had been but no one listened to them once Sarutobi authorized a special raid by Naruto. The strong smell of perfume lingered on all Inuzuka for a week afterwards.

* * *

During all these months, Naruto had chosen his partner in crime well. No one suspected the shy Hyuuga Hinata as being his comrade in pranks. Naruto had made it a specific point to ask Hiashi up front if Hinata could be the one to aid him. It took a long meeting with the Hokage before Hiashi would agree to allow it. The extra training in planning and infiltration would be helpful to Hinata in the future as it was likely she would be assigned to a recon team. The Hokage also mentioned that the assignment would fuel Hinata's growing sense of self confidence. The stoic Hyuuga leader also enjoyed a good prank so he gave his approval.

Hiashi knew that Hinata had already developed a mild crush on the yellow haired prankster. While the boy was not well thought of in some circles, Hiashi knew exactly who the orphan was. He felt that the boy having ties to the Hyuuga clan in some fashion would be a wise investment for the future. Hiashi offered the duo a seldom used storage cellar in a building the Hyuuga owned in the merchant district as a base of operations. Any supplies they needed would be provided through Hinata so the people watching Naruto would not get too suspicious. Hiashi's only requirement after keeping Hinata safe from harm was that he be provided with a copy of anything the pranksters found as well.

For Hinata, it was like a dream come true. She had always wanted a friend and with Naruto she had a great one. He would not let her retreat into her shy mode when he was around but she also kept him from going overboard with his energy. Since she was no longer worried about being put up against her sister, her juuken ability on forms seemed to increase exponentially and began approaching that of Neji. However she still lacked the needed reach to fare well against adult sparring partners

The weekly prank missions became more than just a fun sideline for Hinata. The work involved took more than simply going in and doing the prank. It took a lot of planning and recon work. The duo drew up a lot of maps of Konoha the first few months they were working for the Hokage. It became almost a game to find out new things around Konoha to make the maps more complete. If something existed, it was added to the growing stack of scrolls for later use. After the first round of pranks had been completed, they had a three dimensional map of Konoha and it's under workings that rivaled and in some cases surpassed that of ANBU. The Hokage and Hiashi both were impressed by the level of detail these maps provided. After a second closed door session, both adults realized they had a potential gold mine of information and acquired a complete copy of the children's cartography.

The Hokage and Hiashi allowed Hinata to join in on the raids beginning with the second round of pranks. With her byakugan she could seem more deeply into structures and underground passages to make the maps greater in detail. Hinata understood what the map making was for but she did not worry the situation greatly. She looked forward to breaking into clan compounds with Naruto. That was her primary interest in the missions now. The planning and execution with Naruto was her main concern. Anything else that made a mission successful was an aid to them. If her father or the Hokage could also benefit from it, she was pleased but not worried.

Her ideas became more and more creative in helping them accomplish the weekly goals. One idea she had was that the clans knew Naruto was behind the pranks so they would be on the lookout for the orange clad boy, he should use a henge to disguise himself during recon. She would use one as well to hide the fact that her Byakugan was active as she and a 'branch member' were out on errands. Hinata even approached the Hokage to have ANBU style masks made for the pair, one of a fox, the other of a rabbit. The pair felt that since they were on secret missions, they needed to look the part. Sarutobi chuckled and approved. She also convinced Naruto to dress more appropriately for night missions in dark colors while maintaining his normal orange strictly for daywear to throw off the clans. One mission in particular was a success solely due to Hinata's ideas.

The Kara clan knew they were going to be raided soon. Naruto had been seen snooping around near their compound. They had stepped up their night patrols immensely and covered the building so well that the pair had been forced to retire three nights in a row without a successful mission. Naruto knew he could finish the prank but part of the game was doing so undiscovered. Hinata looked over all their information on the clan once more and noticed that two-thirds of the clan members were involved with night guarding the compound. Hinata simply asked, what about a daytime raid? Naruto had not done a prank in the broad daylight since Sarutobi asked him to do these security missions. The grin on his face was soon mirrored by one on Hinata as she went to fetch their mission clothing. Fox and Rabbit were soon eating ramen at Ichiraku as the Kara clan tried to figure out how all the swords in their armory had mysteriously found their way onto the roof of the clan house.

**

* * *

**

End Notes:

One reviewer asked if I would make longer chapters. I tend to post my chapters at natural stopping points for what I have written. I am glad people like what I have written and I am continuing to add more and edit but after seeing a lot of people posting chapters of under 500 words I figured my almost 2000 words in chapter 2 was good enough.

Posted1/29/08 - Edited and Reposted


	4. Born In Adversity

I do not own Naruto, but my daughter does have all 27 published mangas in her room; somewhere.

**Will Born in Adversity**

Aside from the pranking, Naruto and Hinata still had to attend the Academy. The Hokage had focused all the resources needed to get the school finished quickly. The school had been rebuilt after four months and was a much better place to learn than before. Naruto joined Hinata's class under Iruka-sensei. The other members of the class included the group he has seen on the stairs during the fire as well as a dozen more. The dark brooding Uchiha Sasuke was no longer the sole focus of a fan club. Several had turned their sights onto Naruto. Of course, Naruto took no notice of the girls crushing on him as his time not in school was filled with the prank missions.

The other kids he had seen on the stairs during the fire all became his friends fairly quickly. Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba were all like Hinata in that they all considered Naruto a hero. The way they accepted Naruto warmed his heart and helped him adjust much better than any class he had been in before. Uchiha Sasuke was cold and distant and just considered Naruto beneath his notice. Any time he even spoke to Naruto he made it into an insult.

Hinata took it upon herself to help Naruto. She made him focus on doing his class work by threatening to drop out of the missions it he failed as much as a quiz. It was also Hinata that realized Naruto put way too much chakra into his efforts on basic jutsu. When Naruto used chakra, it was like using a fire hose to water a fern instead of using a watering can. It could be done but more care was needed than Naruto normally used. Once he learned how to use a minimum amount, his jutsu were turning out like they were supposed to be and left a pleased Iruka to chuckle at how cute the couple looked when Naruto pouted and Hinata playfully scolded him.

* * *

Haruno Sakura was frowning while watching the too cute couple. It was bad enough that Naruto had managed to pull out of dead last status but now Hinata was doing better across the board as well. That improvement had not only pushed Sakura out of her spot as top girl in the class but also left Sakura as the last place person in taijutsu among the girls. It did not matter that she was without peer in chakra control and genjutsu in school. All people saw was that she was weak physically.

On top of all the school problems Sakura seemed to be developing, the Sasuke fan club had a rapidly depleting membership. Since the fire and the Uchiha's callus abandoning of the rest of the class to sprint out of the building, fewer girls saw him as something special. Even Ino had told Sakura that if the pink haired girl wanted that 'moody coward' she was welcome to him. Sakura's enraged attack on Ino during taijutsu class made things that much worse. Ino simply assumed a neutral stance and literally slapped Sakura's pitiful attacks to the side.

"You know, Forehead, I've spent the last few months practicing once I realized I was spending all my time fawning over some worthless emo boy. All you did was tell everyone he was misunderstood. They treat him like a prodigy and hero because he survived the massacre. You know what? He wouldn't even be a prodigy among his own clan. His brother's record makes him look like a loser. The age Sasuke is now, his brother was an ANBU. Sasuke is just an Academy student and has not even activated his Sharingan yet. Most Uchiha clan members had it activate before they were twelve. Not much of a prodigy or genius there, huh Forehead?"

Ino then went on the offensive as tears streamed down Sakura's face. A single hit to the stomach made Sakura bend over and lose her breath and a follow up downward strike to the jaw laid Sakura down to the grass. "Drop the illusions, Forehead. If you want the best you already missed out; because he is blonde and taken. You should just quit the Academy. You're weak." Ino just bowed to the instructor and left the sparring field.

Sakura lay there just thinking about Ino's taunts. They had stung her badly. Once classes were over for the day, Sakura merely wandered the village. She never paid attention to where she was going and walked right into someone. Looking up she saw the white robes and aged face of the Hokage. Sakura blushed and apologized for bumping into him but he waved it off. He led her to a small bench nearby and sat them down on it.

"You seemed deep in thought, Sakura. Mind telling an old man exactly what is making your young face so troubled besides that monster of a bruise on it?"

'Wow, the Hokage knows my name.' "Um, I've been having some doubts about a few things, Hokage-sama. I'm not even sure if I should stay in the Academy anymore."

"My my, that is a troubling situation. It is close to the end of the term as well. What is causing your doubts?"

"Well, I've been seeing how everything changed since the fire at the Academy. The new building is great and all but a lot of attitudes have changed. I like a boy that everyone seems to have turned against recently. I know that sounds shallow but I think I could help him if he would let me."

Sakura, I think I know who you are talking about. He has a lot to deal with and people have not had him confront his problems at all. They just tell him he is a genius and in many ways he is. He learns things quickly and well but he never needs to really try very hard to learn these things. Because he never needs to train as hard as others do, he looks down on people that cannot accomplish tasks as quickly as he can. He could be a great ninja for Konoha but he is lacking the one thing that makes Konoha ninja special. He only cares for himself, not for others. That is a trait too many Uchiha have had in the past."

"But I think your troubles are coming from something else, Sakura. What else is bothering you?"

Sakura sighed deeply as she sat quietly fighting back tears for a minute before speaking softly. "Today … today at sparring practice, I lost to my old friend Ino. It wasn't even a contest. She just stood there and batted away my taijutsu like it was nothing then beat me in two hits. She just put down Sasuke-kun during the fight and called me weak after it. She said I should quit the Academy." Sakura broke down crying. "I don't want to be weak, Hokage-sama. I know I can be strong but I'm not sure how to get there. I've run and lifted weights and done everything the instructors expect of us but I never get any stronger. Then suddenly Ino, who has always been on the same level as me, is kicking my butt. I don't know what to do anymore." Sarutobi just wrapped his arms around the crying girl and held her until she had cried out her despair.

"Sakura, being strong is more than something physical. It means you have the inner fire to overcome the things that bother you. I think you should go have this talk with Iruka. He is a much better teacher than he lets on. I believe he can help you find out what you're doing wrong and get you back on track to where you want to be headed. But remember, it has to be something you want before you can improve, Sakura. Now, run along home, I am sure your parents are wondering why you're late for dinner."

Sarutobi watched the pink haired girl rush down the street before disappearing from view. 'Maybe there is something there that can be worked with. She reminds me of someone from a long time ago. I should check this one out a bit harder.'

* * *

It was completely dark by the time Sakura finally got home. "Sorry I'm late, Mom. I got into something after school and I even got to talk to the Hokage a little while ago."

Sakura was walking into the kitchen and both her parents stopped what they were doing to stare at the pink haired girl. Sakura noticed them looking and turned to look behind herself before going "What?"

"Sakura, the entire left half of your face is nothing but a bruise. What happened to you?"

"Oh, that. It was sparring practice with Ino at the end of school today. She got in a lucky shot and decked me. It's nothing, really."

Haruno Sumomo arched an eyebrow at her daughter's evasive answer. She never really approved of her daughter's desire to be a ninja. No one in the family had been one since her grandfather and he was never that good at it. He had been crippled back in the Second Ninja War. She figured if she married a nice bureaucrat then she would never have to worry about ninja in the family. 'If only her father had enough spine to keep her from going to the Academy.'

"Well you sit down and I'll get the first aid kit. We should at least get something on that before it swells anymore. It even looks like you were crying. It must really hurt if you were crying from it."

Sakura blushed a bit when her mother mentioned crying. "It stung a little at the time. But really, Mom, its nothing. I'll have to deal with a lot more than a little bruise when I make genin."

"Making genin seems to be all you think about lately. You are never home after school anymore. You're always out chasing after that Uchiha boy." Sumomo grumbled.

Sakura flinched as she knew her mother was going to go into another tirade about ninja and she should be worried about finding a nice boy to get engaged to in a few years. She tried to sneak out of the kitchen to her room but walked into her mother instead.

"You. Sit." Sumomo pointed to the chair at the table. Sakura sat and let her mother work on her face. After a liberal application of ointment, Sakura tried to leave again.

"You know Sakura, your father works very hard at his job to support us. His boss is looking to find a bride for his son and he has expressed an interest in meeting you. Why don't we get you out of that silly ninja school? With your brains and head for numbers, I am sure you could be a great help for his department in the payroll office. You could meet his boss' son and we could arrange a future for you."

"Mom, I don't want to work in Dad's office and his boss' son is a gross fat kid that was not even accepted into the Academy. I'm doing the things I wanted to by going to the Academy. Dad understands that and that is why he let me go in the first place. That IS my future."

"But Sakura, it's so dangerous. I mean you could be crippled like your great grandfather or worse captured by enemies and raped or enslaved. Or even just have your throat cut and be dumped in a ditch like trash."

Sumomo was in tears at her pleas but Sakura was not buying it. She knew how her mother manipulated her father on a daily basis with those tears and would not fall for it herself.

But a shadow of doubt crept into Sakura's mind. Ino had beaten her so easily today. It had not even been a contest this afternoon. Two hits and boom, down went Sakura into the dirt. Now with her mother ranting on about the dangers of being a kunoichi, Sakura could not help but pause at all the possible dangers that lay in her future.

"Mom …" Sakura whispered. "Mom, I'll think about it this time, ok?"

* * *

The following morning, Sakura arrived early for class to speak to Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei, I need to ask something and I need an honest answer. Am I weak?" she asked

Iruka was slightly shocked by the outright question. "Well, I would not go calling you weak, Sakura. You are a very intelligent girl and have excellent chakra control. Those are things that can let you go far as a ninja."

"No Sensei. Am I weak physically? Am I cut out to be a ninja? Yesterday, Ino beat me in sparring without even having to try. Please, Iruka-sensei, tell me the truth."

Iruka sighed. He had heard this line from students for years. Mostly it was right before they dropped out of training. He did not want to lose another student this year but he also felt hiding the truth would be worse than lying since it could mean a dead genin in a few months time.

"Sakura, I know you think you work hard at your training, but actually you tend to just coast through it. You do the minimum required to pass at the physical things. As I said in chakra control and genjutsu, no one else at the same training level can touch you. But you never have to try on those. It is a natural gift you have in those aspects of being a ninja. That same work ethic doesn't apply in the physical things. Yes, you can meet the lowest physical requirements to become a genin but if you tried harder you could do so much better. Natural ability will only take a person so far but it is only through hard work that a person can excel."

"So, I am weak."

"Sakura, it's not so much a matter of you being weak physically. It's a case of you not putting out the effort needed to get better. That's what you need to do Sakura. You need to get out and push yourself physically. It will get you stronger and more capable. Look at Hinata and Naruto. A few months ago both were near the bottom of the class. They both found new ways to work on their flaws. See how much better they're both doing now? You could have that sort of improvement. It is up to you, though. I can honestly say if you don't get better physically, I might have to recommend that you not be allowed to take the Genin Exam at the end of term."

"So, it's either step up or step out Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka slowly nodded. He hated this part. Better to crush a child's dream now than to have to see another one buried. He waited for Sakura to tell him she was quitting.

Sakura stood there quietly for a minute, looking down. She thought back on all the things she had gone through to get to this point.

The taunts and teasing she went through when she was smaller before Ino became her friend. The feeling that simple act had given Sakura was one she still treasured in spite of all the disagreements later on. Ino had made her feel safe and protected. Sakura later had applied for ninja school along with Ino because she had wanted to make others feel safe as well. Her father had taken her for a walk the night she asked her parents to let her attend the Academy.

"_A ninja huh? You know your mother is going to raise a huge stink over this don't you? Well, don't let her know this but I tried to get into the Academy in my youth. Those Sannin had inspired so many of us. I was telling everyone I knew how I was going to be the one to defeat all the enemies of Konoha. I tried my best but I knew after a little while I couldn't even generate an ounce of chakra to save my life. I was still there ten minutes after they told me I failed, still trying to make even a bit of chakra. Then this blonde kid no one knew came up and stunned everyone with the amount of chakra he had. I never got his name then but years later he was named Fourth Hokage. Seems funny that your old dad the dependable reliable working stiff had dreams of being like that in his past huh? Well, I believe you can do this. Go after your dreams Sakura and I'll be a hero as well and deal with what your mother has to say."_

Her father had just kissed her on her forehead and true to his word allowed Sakura to attend the Academy, never once backing down from that choice. He was stronger than she had ever thought he could be. He gave her the chance for her own dreams. Could she walk away from those dreams? She could give up becoming a ninja and find a well off husband without trying. Her mother would see to that.

She looked up at Iruka-sensei. He was waiting for Sakura to say something. She could see the look on his face. He knew she was going to back out and quit. A flash of her father came again, that look superimposed on his face almost broke her heart. Her father _believed_ in her dream. Could she face him without trying?

"Sensei …"

Sakura paused again as one last thought danced across her mind. Trying. The entire problem suddenly became simple. It all came down to trying. Her father had tried. He failed but it was not the fact that he had been rejected that was important. He had gone out knowing he couldn't and attempted it anyhow. He had failed on his terms by giving his best effort.

She _could_ do this but the most important point is she had _not_ been putting out the effort. That was the simple truth she had been missing these past few years. She had lost her focus. It went from to be a ninja to instead gain the attention of a handsome boy with dark eyes and a mysterious air.

She had come in with a dream; to be a ninja; to protect others from bullies, to protect her parents and friends and village.

Her father gave her the opportunity.

Her teachers gave her the knowledge.

Now all she had to do was put out the effort to take the last step. This late in the year she might not be able to improve enough physically. But what if she tried? She was faced with the choice, to go quietly or to go out on her own terms.

"Sensei, what do I need to do? Can you help me?" Sakura looked Iruka in the eye. The green orbs of Sakura's eyes seemed to light up in an inner fire that was not there earlier. "I want to get stronger."

* * *

Sarutobi was enjoying his evening stroll through the village. As he passed the Academy, he noticed a sweaty pink haired girl running laps around the track. He chuckled at the sight. After his research and seeing this, he decided that he would have an ANBU leave a small scroll in her family's mailbox tomorrow.

**

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Chapter Notes

: I got the name Sumomo which means prune from an online translator. At first I was looking at flowers but then switched to fruit. I had liked Ume which means plum but I realized if you dry a plum you get a prune which also fits the idea I got regarding Sakura's mother in the only line of dialogue in the anime.

I had originally planned on this chapter to be much shorter and a part of what will be the next one but while proofreading I realized I had entirely left out Sakura's motives for change. As for Ino, when your crush runs off and leaves you to possibly die, you tend to re think things a bit

Edited and Reposted


	5. Enter the Sannin

I do not own Naruto. Slavery is illegal anyhow.

**Enter the Sannin**

Sarutobi was very pleased. His original plans were progressing faster than he had anticipated. Jiraiya had found Tsunade rather quickly. It did take the man 6 months to convince the slug princess to return to Konoha for a visit. The promise of paying off a hefty portion of her gambling debt was all it took in the end. Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune entered the village on the day of Naruto's grandest prank ever.

Sarutobi had allowed Naruto free reign on his grand prank. It had to be something to get ANBU after him. The only catch was he could not be caught in the process of setting it up. A week of setting rooftop traps that would not be found or tripped ahead of time was extremely difficult for Naruto. He made sure that Hinata was not involved in this one as her father would object to such a performance. Once it was set, he only had to wait for dawn to begin.

Two hours of labor painting the Hokage Monument somehow was unnoticed by all save Hinata and Sarutobi. The stealth genjutsu Naruto had developed rivaled the one Jiraiya used to peep with. Once he had finished the paint, he stood atop the Fourth's head and shouted "HEY KONOHA, LOOK AT THIS!" Killer intent from multiple ANBU squads flushed the boy from his perch and the chase began.

* * *

The devastation to the pride of the ANBU was complete by noon. They were extremely hampered by the sole fact that they were under long standing orders not to harm Naruto. Squad by squad they had fallen prey to the traps laid by Naruto. Stink bombs, paint bombs, multiple bunshin in Naruto's sexy jutsu; Naruto had pulled out all the stops and planning he had learned over the years to accomplish his grand prank. The sole member of ANBU to finally catch Naruto was presented with the mission scroll from the Hokage. The ANBU captain in the dog mask was the one to finally reel in Naruto. Kakashi looked at the scroll and simply began laughing at how badly they all had underestimated the twelve year old Academy student. Cleanup went even smoother as Naruto made 5 hand signs and dispersed the special paint he had used in his prank, leaving the mountain pristine once more.

The Great Naruto Chase would be remembered long after his passing.

* * *

Tsunade scowled at not being allowed sake during her lunch date with Sarutobi. She was already missing out on a serious pachinko tournament in the Land of Tea to be here. If Sarutobi reneged on Jiraiya's promise to pay off half her debts, she would level this musty old tower. This town had too many bad memories for her to be comfortable for very long. She had told Shizune to not even unpack the bags, only get the dirty clothes washed and repacked.

"So, what did you think of the little display this morning, Tsunade?"

Tsunade scowled, "The ANBU looked like a bunch of idiots. Three hours chasing a kid who should have been caught before the first swipe of paint was dry on the mountain. You've let this place go to crap, sensei."

Sarutobi only nodded at Tsunade's blatant insult but pressed on. "Well, we are slowly fixing something that has developed in the years since the Fourth died. This village lost something special when he sacrificed himself to save it. Something we need to regain before events around us destroy it completely."

Tsunade looked up sharply at that. She was not fond of Konoha but did not want it destroyed. Her teacher had a solemn face and as she looked at Jiraiya, he nodded as well. "There is a new hidden village growing in the Rice Country. It seems that the leader of it is an old friend of ours who has a love of snakes."

"Orochimaru."

"Yes, and I recall his last statement to me, that he would destroy Konoha one day. His village is closer to us than any other hidden village so even our allies would not have a chance to aid us if something were to happen." Sarutobi paused to pour tea for himself and his guests before continuing. "So, again, what did you think of Minato's boy this morning?"

Tsunade almost spit out her tea in surprise. "The blonde gaki who did all that was Minato's boy!"

Sarutobi chuckled. "Yes, it seems he did not like being shunned by most of the population and took up pranking to gain attention. He became quite good at evading the consequences of his pranks as well. His skills at avoiding capture already rival those of his mother. After age ten, no one short of a jonin could apprehend him. His skills make even Kakashi have to put forth an effort."

"For the past nine months, I have had him working for me. He has been planning raids on clan compounds to pull pranks as a test of security. The chase this morning was a direct result of a lack of reporting by ANBU on overall security. They had gotten lax in not reporting the pranks being done so I needed to remind them; that even in peace, we need to watch for unusual activity. Naruto took an entire week to set up his little chase today and I am sure he was spotted several times setting it up but no word of it reached my ears. Had his prank been an actual sabotage attempt, half the village would be destroyed now."

Tsunade was not sure if she should raise her view of the boy or lower her view on the village. She remembered the level of ability of Uzumaki Kushina, the woman Sarutobi mentioned. As a girl, she had been part of a refugee family of ninja from the Land of Whirlpool. They had fled to Konoha when their small country had been 'forcibly absorbed' by the Land of Water 24 years ago. A Rock village raiding party killed off all the refugees but Kushina who had been rescued by Jiraiya and his genin team. The team was surprised by the girl as she evaded attacks from a Rock jonin before the raiding party was defeated by Jiraiya's squad. Kushina became at first a mascot and little sister to the squad before becoming a ninja in her own right when she was old enough.

"So how does all of this involve me, sensei? It's not like you to spend time and money to find me just to have lunch and talk of old times. What do you want?" Tsunade asked.

Sarutobi smiled. "Blunt as always Tsunade. What I want is to use you, Jiraiya and one other to train a team for Konoha."

"No," she said bluntly.

"At least hear out the entire proposal first, Tsunade. Part of it has a strong influence from you." Jiraiya put in. "Sensei took into account something you suggested years ago. Adding a trained medic nin to the teams"

"… Fine, I'll listen to it."

"Konoha has lost much of its spark since Minato died. We need to make a team to bring that back and inspire people in the village again. Right now, all we can point to is you and Jiraiya as our achievements and inspiration. But the rest of the countries see Jiraiya as a perverted author and your reputation as 'The Legendary Sucker'. That, coupled with Orochimaru's defection has put a tarnish on the Sannin. Also a few years ago, the Uchiha massacre by one of their own makes things that much worse for Konoha."

"I am very old, Tsunade. I am well past my prime and when I am gone, there are maybe four people who could replace me as Hokage. The two of you, and Kakashi are all that are strong enough. Danzo has the backroom support of many but he wants war and conquest. Jiraiya is a writer of erotic books and in recent years known for his exploits in brothels and bathhouses more than his skills. Kakashi is lazy and lost in his pain. You, Tsunade, are a drunk and gambler who is deeply in debt. Do you see my problem now? Who can we look to for hope in that? The will of fire is dying in Konoha and it must be re-awakened if the village is to survive. I cannot afford to wait for a war to make people feel it once more "

"My proposition is this; a new team of apprentices for the Sannin. People chosen to be the heirs of the title and trained by the Sannin themselves." Sarutobi pulled out 3 folders and placed them on the table.

Tsunade grunted in disdain but did not stop Sarutobi.

"Uzumaki Naruto. The son of the 'Yellow Flash' Jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox. He already has many of the traits and attributes of his parents. From his father, he has the Namikaze vast chakra reserves and the same natural stamina. Both are enhanced by the chakra of the Kyuubi itself. From his mother, he has her sense of spatial awareness and acrobatic skill. In battle, he knows what is around him and can use it to his advantage. With taijutsu he can be unpredictable and as you have seen, he is able to evade multiple opponents more skilled than himself. He has a wind affinity and a knack for creating ninjutsu that only is beginning to exploit his vast chakra. He would study under Jiraiya.

"Hyuuga Hinata. Heir of the Hyuuga clan. She has the Byukagan that all Hyuuga possess. Clan taijutsu of Juuken and a strong desire to protect others. Last year while on a half healed leg, she took down three chunnin ranked missing nin who tried to kidnap her sister. She has been tested for elemental affinity and came out as having a primary Water affinity. She is the first Hyuuga in three generations not to have an Earth affinity as their primary." Sarutobi chuckled for a moment. "For her age, she is also the smallest Hyuuga in three generations. I have Hiashi's permission to include her in this under Anko's teaching. Anko's brazen attitude will bring the girl out of her shy self and hopefully make her more aggressive. Hiashi also recognizes Hinata's lack of reach and elemental affinity is a strong secondary reason for her relative weakness at Juuken against larger opponents and will allow a modified version to be developed for her use."

"Haruno Sakura. She has an aptitude for genjutsu. She is highly intelligent with a photographic memory. Her only other claim for anything right now is precise chakra control. She has the kind of control that would make her an excellent choice as a medical specialist. She tested out better in her Academy finals at chakra control than you did Tsunade. You might want to know that she is actually a distant cousin of yours. A detailed search of the records shows she is your third cousin twice removed"

"What? I have no other relatives. Nawaki was my last relative."

"This one was a bit tricky to find. I have met her and found she bore a resemblance in appearance to you. It seems the mother of your grandmother, the wife of the First, had a younger sister. Sakura descends from that line. The entire lineage to her is on the female side. That is why no one knows about it. But Sakura is the first ninja in her family since her great grandfather so she has no clan backing and only Academy level training."

"What is this with Anko filling in as a 'Sannin'?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well, we cannot recruit Orochimaru to do it but everyone is aware of Anko-chan's status as his only surviving team member and apprentice," Sarutobi countered.

"So basically, you want us to take a loud prankster, a midget Hyuuga and an Academy hack nobody and make them into a Neo-Sannin?" Tsunade started to chuckle before bursting out into a loud belly laugh fit that lasted for minutes. "Sensei, as far as jokes go, that is the best laugh I've had in decades. But do you honestly believe anyone could turn those three into anything remotely close to Sannin?

"Tsunade, when our genin team began, did anyone think that WE could have reached the level of Sannin? The class dead last, the man who wanted to know every jutsu in the world and the fan girl princess? But in the end, Hanzo the Rain leader named us Sannin and called us that to the world." Jiraiya quietly said.

"Why don't you watch them for a few weeks first, Tsunade? Give us a month to convince you that these students are worth the effort to try.

"I really should say no, but your idea of having one of the team trained as a medic nin is too strong an enticement. Besides, Shizune needs a few weeks of outside training in new medical theory and the hospital here is still the best in the Elemental Countries. I'll observe these gaki of yours for a month to see how they interact with their peers. No promises beyond that, Sensei."

* * *

Tsunade spent the first afternoon watching the trio through Sarutobi's crystal ball. Iruka had set the entire class on a review of basic jutsu. One by one the students had to perform a henge, a kawarmi and create clones. Tsunade noticed the Uchiha and mentioned that he was best in the class already. "Why not consider him for your little project, Sensei?"

"I had considered him for a short time. However his attitude is completely wrong for this. He insists on doing everything alone. He is callus to the other students and considers them all a waste of his time. All he wants is to get stronger to get revenge on his brother for murdering the entire clan. The Council is pandering to his ego in a large amount because he is the last loyal Uchiha. I however am not sure of his loyalties. If someone came by offering him a shortcut to power, I believe he would take it; no matter the cost."

"Sounds a bit like Orochimaru. Everything for power and damn everyone who gets in his way." Jiraiya put in.

Tsunade nodded slowly as Naruto made his clones. The intense concentration he showed surprised Tsunade. Chakra even formed a small aura about his body as he focused before creating five perfect clones. "What was that, Sensei? The amount of focus he put out on that jutsu was way out of line. Is he having trouble drawing out chakra or something?"

"Quite the opposite in fact. As I said before he has his father's chakra levels and the Kyuubi enhances those. The seal that imprisons the Kyuubi is maintained by his chakra so he has been expressing it since he was born. He already has the capacity of a jonin but the control of a normal Academy student. He literally has to force back his chakra when performing an E rank jutsu such as a simple Bunshin. Otherwise he overloads it and it fails. As he is now, he could perform consecutive A ranked jutsu for an hour before making a serious dent in his chakra."

After the rest of the class had done the review, Iruka led the students to the training field for taijutsu practice. The students got into place on the field and went through the Academy taijutsu katas as warm-ups. Iruka then paired them off to spar in individual styles. Sasuke knocked his opponent out in one blow and simply stood in a disgusted fashion while Iruka attended the downed boy. Hinata was taking turns attacking and defending with her partner so both could get a decent workout. Naruto was going all out but seemed to be enjoying himself even when he took a hit. Sakura seemed sluggish in her moves as her opponent would simply dodge and block everything Sakura tried.

Tsunade noted a blonde girl taunt Sakura from nearby and the anger on Sakura's face as she made her next strike. The blow was blocked like most before but this one was different. The girl slid back a few feet and looked surprised. Tsunade knew exactly what caused that and spun to face Sarutobi.

"That girl Sakura used a raw version of my own strength technique! How did she learn that?"

Sarutobi chuckled. "Well, maybe a little monkey talked to her about a few things and gave her a scroll outlining the basic principles behind your technique from the jutsu library."

Tsunade growled. "You mean she taught herself that technique from the scroll I gave you 35 years ago? My strength technique wasn't even half finished then."

"True, but I also did mention that her chakra control exceeded yours at the same age. What is limiting her right now is the fact that her chakra reserves are lower and that one punch likely wore her out. But all in all, not bad for only a month of work with no training in the technique, don't you think?"

Tsunade grumbled again and looked back into the crystal ball to watch the rest of the practice. In spite of her demeanor; these children Sarutobi had picked impressed her.

**

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**

End Notes:

This chapter was difficult to get done. It took several rewrites to get close to where I wanted it to be. It is hard to use an well worn concept and find a fresh way of dealing with it without using outside characters. Still, the end result pleased me.  
Thanks for the reviews and the continued hits.

Edited and Reposted


	6. The Genin Exams

I do not own Naruto and will not ever have the chance.

**The Genin Exams**

'The Genin Exams', thought Naruto. 'A whole lot of hype for a simple bunch of tests to see if we learned a little bit during the years in here. I'd rather be out doing more pranks for the Old Man.' Naruto yawned and hunched down further into his seat. Hinata had gotten him up way too early this morning to get ready for things. First, she had had him run around the village several times to wear him down. With his freakish stamina, he would be fine again after a good meal but Hinata had denied him his breakfast as well.

"You need to be worn down and tired when the exam time comes or you might be too nervous to properly control your chakra when the time for the bunshin jutsu comes around. If we run down your chakra levels before the final test it will be easier for you to get it right. You know the right amount of chakra you need to do that jutsu but when you're rested and at full strength you need maximum concentration to get it to work" Hinata had explained.

So two hours and twenty miles later, a tired and hungry Naruto sat in the classroom waiting for the first test. The written portion was still difficult for him but thanks to Hinata's help the past year, he had a much easier time than he did in his previous attempt. The ninjutsu test went just as easy for Naruto as the written test. He had to admit Hinata had been right about his nervousness and being so worn down kept his chakra from flaring too much when the time came for the bunshin. Instead of the five perfect clones he was aiming for he got three good ones and a partial sickly looking one. But the three good ones were enough for him to pass.

The genjutsu part was his worst subject. His skill at Academy genjutsu was nearly non-existent. He asked if he could use one of his own creations instead of the one that was normally used. The teachers took a moment to confer before allowing it. They would have to judge it more harshly than the standard one. Naruto grinned like a fox and used the same genjutsu he used in painting the Hokage Mountain. The teachers were impressed and gave him a passing grade.

Naruto went to lunch happier than he had ever been. His previous two attempts at passing the exam had never gone this well. He would finally get to participate into the taijutsu section of the Exam. Hinata had brought lunch for both of them since she had denied him his breakfast. It was not ramen but Naruto was too pumped up to care. He was still smiling when the class was escorted out into the schoolyard for the taijutsu testing and sparring competition.

* * *

All the classes attempting to graduate students this year were out in the yard. About sixty genin hopefuls in all had made it this far. Most of the girls were gathered around Inuzuka Kiba and were fawning over his brand new puppy. The boy had a large grin on his face as he explained that his mother had decided he was old enough to begin training in the family techniques and so had allowed Kiba to choose his first partner. The three month old puppy Kiba named Akamaru soaked in all the attention the girls focused on him until Iruka called the class into positions. Kiba set Akamaru off to the side and told him to watch closely.

The bleachers around the athletic field were full of parents, clan officials and plain spectators. Small groups of Chunnin from the Hokage's office were taking notes on each prospective genin. Roughly a dozen jonin were gathered together to one side looking over the students. Naruto overheard in the low murmur of conversation among the students that the jonin in the bleachers were going to be the senseis for the ones who graduated this term. Naruto looked over at the jonin and did not recognize any of them. The only two that stood out to him were two sitting next to each other. One was a dark haired red-eyed kunoichi in a strange white dress; the other one looked familiar somehow and reminded the blonde of Old Man Hokage.

The first round of testing consisted of just basic Academy taijutsu forms. A simple two-point system of bouts made up the test itself as they were judged on their ability to at least attack and defend. The second round was a free for all. Any style and method of fighting could be used to take out your opponent, ninjutsu was allowed. The only limiting factor was they could not use deadly techniques on their schoolmates. The open fighting was moved to a nearby training area with trees and bushes along the borders.

Hinata easily won the girl's division. Between her sense of confidence and her clan's taijutsu style, none of the other girls stood a chance. The only two girls who might have challenged her, Sakura and Ino, had taken each other out in a draw that had involved a lot of insults and degenerated into a wrestling match.

The boy's fights were much more impressive. The lone exception to that, Shikamaru and Shino had simply stood as each waited for the other to make the first move until the teachers disqualified them both. Choji and Kiba had ended up in a toe-to-toe brawl that left the poor Inuzuka boy looking like he had been mauled. He went and sat by Akamaru and simply soaked up the love the girls directed at the boy and his puppy. His ego did not allow him to see the love was directed at the puppy.

Naruto won his first bout by jumping around before attacking his opponent from the rear. He also used tricks he had learned in his clan pranks against his second opponent. He had a third round win over Choji by using a minor genjutsu of all the food in Choji's lunch having been laced with worms. Choji just began vomiting and forfeited the match. Naruto felt bad about using such a low tactic on a friend and gave Choji his only coupon for a free lunch at Ichiraku Ramen. Choji had too big a heart to remain mad at Naruto after that.

Sasuke merely went through his competition in his normal style; beat them down with a minimum of fuss. The final round of the mini tournament came down to Naruto versus Sasuke. The rival groups of fan girls lined up eagerly to see this fight to see which boy was better.

"I'm surprised a loser like you got this far" Sasuke called out as the boys faced off. "All your little tricks and traps won't work on an Uchiha. You actually need to fight but you still won't stand a chance against me. Just run away before you get hurt."

"We'll see about that. Besides, you know a lot more than me about running away. Don't you Sasuke?" Naruto countered.

Sasuke growled deep in his throat as Naruto's taunt hit home. The fire had ruined his reputation as the number one guy in school. It was not his fault that he needed to make sure he got out of the building quickly. Sure he could have helped but he needed to get out of there for Konoha's benefit. He was an Uchiha, the elite of the Konoha. He could not risk being hurt before he could hunt down his brother and re-establish his clan.

Sasuke rushed at Naruto intending to end the fight quickly. The same move that won his bouts all through the Academy. He had this move down better than any other. The strike he made was perfect, his balance flawless. He held his stance for a second before he realized; he had not connected.

"Gee Sasuke, you gonna fight or you gonna just pose for photo ops after each move?" Naruto taunted. Sasuke frowned as the crowd all chuckled at the barb. He attacked the blonde again this time seeing how Naruto dodged and landed a blow to Naruto's shoulder. Naruto managed to roll with the hit and came up into the ready position Iruka had taught him. Sasuke kept pressing his attack while Naruto did more dodging than fighting. Finally, one miss left Sasuke over extended and Naruto countered with a jaw-shaking blow. The crowd all began talking excitedly. No one had ever hit Sasuke like that in a fight before.

Sasuke stepped back and chuckled, "That was your one free hit, dobe. You won't get anymore."

Naruto smirked, "Just you wait, teme. I'm full of surprises."

The fight went on after that with pure taijutsu for several minutes. Neither boy could land another solid hit on the other. Naruto was too good at evasion and Sasuke would not be fooled by Naruto's tricks. Then, Sasuke turned to weapons and ninjutsu. Sasuke began to launch attacks at Naruto from a distance. Naruto managed to avoid all the shuriken and kunai Sasuke hurled at him and Sasuke was getting frustrated. This fight was taking way too long for him to be comfortable. Sasuke realized that after all his easy wins at the Academy, he was not prepared for a long fight. His stamina was very low while Naruto seemed to have boundless energy.

The dark haired boy had not wanted to go into his vast array of fire jutsu since he was already tired and even a single fire jutsu would leave him out of chakra completely. A few more weapon attacks missing the blonde frustrated him further so Sasuke went for it. He made the hand signs and breathed deeply and sent his Grand Fireball jutsu at Naruto.

Naruto saw the hand signs being made and knew Sasuke was going for something big. He pulled off a substitution jutsu and was next to a nearby tree as the fireball filled the sparring field. Naruto just sat there at stared at the flames. His eyes went wider as the fire hung there over the field and he could not look away. His back seemed to explode in remembered pain; his eyes remained wide and stared at nothing as the flames dispersed. He was not moving as Sasuke looked around for the blonde boy before spotting the staring and shaking Naruto.

"Hn", Sasuke grunted as he sped over and elbowed Naruto in the face, knocking down the blonde. The pair landed in the bushes out of sight of the crowd. Looking at Naruto, he kicked the downed boy in the ribs several times and spat at him. "Just another loser crawling before the might of the Uchiha" he said quietly. The raven-haired boy grabbed Naruto by his jacket and dragged him out of the bushes and dropped Naruto onto the ground.

"Winner and rookie of the year is Uchiha Sasuke" Iruka announced.

A small crowd gathered around each of the boys. The ones near Naruto noticed him bent over holding his ribs with one arm and trying to scratch at his back with the other. The blond boy was also shaking badly. "It hurts, not again, please not again." Naruto whimpered repeatedly.

Hinata understood what was wrong when she got close enough. She wrapped her arms around Naruto and spoke soft comforting words into his ear, reminding him that he was not burnt again and that everything was fine.

Sasuke strolled over with his few fan-girls and suck ups in tow. "What's the matter, loser? Can't take a little fire?" At that remark, even the fan girls recoiled from Sasuke. Everyone recalled what Naruto had gone through nearly a year ago.

Sakura just stared at the raven-haired boy before saying quietly, "That was low, Sasuke, even for you." Sasuke just sneered and walked off into the school alone. His band of followers just looked at each other in silence before breaking up and heading inside, all using a different door than the Uchiha had used.

* * *

Watching from the second story window of the school, Sarutobi, Tsunade and Jiraiya were silent as they watched the last Uchiha walk into the building alone. "Now do you understand why I did not consider the boy for this project, Tsunade?' Sarutobi asked. Tsunade merely nodded.

"I am still not sure if I should go through with this, Sensei. But you have piqued my interest enough with these kids that for now, I am in."

* * *

Iruka smiled up at the thirty three students who graduated this term.

"For those of you I have taught in the past, you know who I am. For those of you I have not, I am Iruka. I would like to congratulate all of you on passing this year's genin exam. Many of you achieved high marks on your finals and that made it difficult to create balanced teams. Because of this, the Hokage has requested that teams be formed with different tactical and strategic ideas in mind. I will read off the squads and your respective senseis will come for you after lunch."

Iruka began reading of names and Naruto slouched down in his seat, barely listening beyond noticing if his name was called. He was still upset about his freezing up and losing to the 'Uchiha-teme' a few days before. Hinata and others had told him it was all right and tried to make him feel better about it. Iruka treated him to ramen the night before and apologized for not knowing that Naruto had a problem with fire and promised to help the boy overcome it if he could. Naruto smiled at the offer and had actually eaten a decent amount after that. Naruto was glad to have true friends that actually cared for him.

"Team 7 under Hatake Kakashi; Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto thought he heard a low growl come from Akamaru and a slight buzz come from Shino. 'It seems I am not the only person to have a dislike for Uchiha-teme.'

"Team 10 under Sarutobi Asuma; Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino. That concludes the assigned teams."

"Iruka-sensei, you didn't call me, Hinata-chan or Sakura." Naruto interrupted.

"Likely you're being sent back for being a loser" said Sasuke tossing in a quick jibe

"Actually Naruto, Hinata and Sakura have all been chosen for individual apprenticeships. I was getting to that when Naruto interrupted. I wasn't going to make a big deal about it but since you took the time for an insult I will read the entire message aloud. 'By order of the Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura will report to the Hokage's office at 8 am tomorrow to receive special training and apprenticeships to Sannin Jiraiya, Mitarashi Anko and Sannin Senju Tsunade.' That is all. If you wish to, Naruto, Hinata and Sakura can leave. Good luck to everyone and I wish you all the best in your careers as ninja." Iruka smirked at Sasuke as he walked out.

'How the heck did the loser get an apprenticeship? I'm the one that should be getting the special treatment because I'm the one that needs it. I'm an Uchiha. I deserve it' Sasuke thought.

By the time Sasuke looked back up from his mental rant, the trio of future apprentices had already left the room. He scowled further and slouched down to begin his wait for his new sensei.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were nearly to the exit when Sakura called out to them. "Could I talk to you two for a minute?"

Sakura looked down for a moment before losing her nerve. "I am not really sure how to say this. I'm sorry about the way Sasuke treated you the other day, Naruto. He shouldn't have said those things to you. I wasn't even nice to either of you most of the time. I want to apologize for that."

Naruto smiled a little bit. "Don't you worry about it, Sakura. It's not your fault he's a jerk. You only liked him for his pretty boy style. You never did anything really bad to Hinata or me. A few fan girl insults over the past year are just kid's stuff. We are going to be ninja now. If what Hinata-chan says is true, we are most likely going to be teammates since we are all going to be apprenticed to Sannin. We need to leave Academy stuff in the Academy."

Sakura blushed at Naruto's casual dismissal of all the verbal abuse she had hurled at him the past year. She could tell by his tone and demeanor that he truly meant what he said. "Thank you, Naruto. Thank you, Hinata. I guess I'll see you two tomorrow in the Hokage's office." Sakura smiled a bit and waved before turning to walk off.

Naruto turned to head off as well until Hinata poked Naruto in the ribs. She called out to Sakura. "Sakura, Naruto-kun and I were just going to check out a few things then head to lunch. Do you want to come with us?"

Sakura stopped and looked at the pair "You mean it?"

Naruto gave his foxy grin. "Of course, if Hinata-chan asks something, she means it."

Sakura turned slightly to look back at the door to the classroom. '_We need to leave Academy stuff in the Academy_. Something that simple huh?' Sasuke was the focus of her Academy days. He had been everything she wanted for most of her time there. He had shaken her faith in him during the fire when he ran out on them. It had shattered when the raven haired boy had so brutally insulted someone who should have been seen as an equal. But he was the Academy. The future lay elsewhere and the people in it were giving her a chance to let the past remain in the past. "I would like that. Thank You both."

**

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**

End Notes:

This ends my opening arc on this story. I am working on the next one but it will be a few weeks before I have it finished enough to begin posting. I like to have most of my story written out ahead of time to prevent me from posting bad material.

A few issues were asked in the reviews so I will address a few before signing off:

Hinata and Naruto were not using the familiar –kun and –chan until the end for two reasons. The main one is I am not great on writing dialogue so their speaking time was at a minimum. The other one is I did not see them becoming that close until after the initial chapters and eventually getting there at a time during the pranking. Also, both are still shy around each other in the romantic sense so they avoid saying those endearments in public.

ANBU is a highly competent organization, in spite of how I made them look in this. In a toe-to-toe fight between Naruto and ANBU, it would have been two hits. ANBU hitting Naruto and Naruto hitting the floor. I tried to mention in story the fact that the ANBU were hampered by the Hokage's orders but I might not have been clear enough. Naruto was simply running away and into prepared traps. The ANBU slowed down due to knowing there were traps and trying to avoid them when possible.

Yes, Sasuke is a pure jerk. Even in canon he is but people tend to overlook that simply because of who he is. In this story, people see in a dramatic fashion how much of one he is. Even if in the future people point to him as winning the Rookie of the Year as a fluke, he would deny it. He just sees himself as the best and that no one at his level can touch him. He will continue to be the major antagonist in the next arc.

The future holds many new things, as the story will avoid the Land of Waves arc. It will be touched upon but seeing as how things have changed in this AU, it will have a number of differences.

The Will Born in Fire will be back before the end of the month. [if all goes as planned

Edited and Reposted


	7. Team Meetings

I am posting much sooner than I had planned since my muse was hyperactive this past weekend. Enjoy

**Meeting the Teachers**

Naruto walked slowly towards the Hokage Tower. This early in the morning there were few civilians out on the streets. Most ignored the young blonde as he strolled but a few actually greeted him. Surprised, he would say hello in return. Even after a year, it perked him up that some people were beginning to warm up to him as a person. He signed in at the Chunnin guarding the door of the Hokage's office since he had never been there before as an official ninja. The guard opened the outside door and pointed to a small waiting area where he saw Hinata and Sakura already sitting. A secretary sat near the inner door and nodded to Naruto and went back to her sorting through papers. Hinata smiled up at Naruto and Sakura just sat quietly. Both girls kept their silence so Naruto did as well. He was nervous enough as it was and he figured the girls were quiet for the same reason.

A few minutes after eight, the inner door opened and the three genin were called into the Hokage's office. Sarutobi sat behind his desk and three people stood off to one side. Naruto glanced over at the people; an old guy with long white hair who looked more like a kabuki actor than a ninja, a long haired large busted blonde woman who looked to be in her mid twenties but something in her eyes said that was a lie. She looked too experienced for her apparent age. Her simple clothing was in a peasant style but from the materials used, he guessed that was more for comfort than lack of funds. The third person was a purple haired woman in an open trench coat. She had her arms folded and a haughty look about her. Through the open coat he could see a chain mail shirt that had to have been custom made to give the appearance of being skintight. It gave the illusion of her being exposed while at the same time; no skin at all was visible from her neck to mid thigh where the mail ended. A leather skirt over her hips and shin guards completed the outfit. At first it seemed a trashy look, but Naruto saw it was one that was calculated and would allow her to get in a first strike while most males were being distracted by it.

Sarutobi noticed all three genin looking over the teachers and noted all the youngsters sizing up the instructors. He cleared his throat to get the youngsters' attention. "Please, take a seat and we will get this meeting started. I am glad you are all on time and we can get down to business. Naruto, Hinata, Sakura; I want to introduce you all to your teachers; Jiraiya, Tsunade and Anko. You might recall that Jiraiya and Tsunade are two of the Sannin of Konoha. Anko is the former apprentice to the other member. They are here to be your teachers for the next few years."

The genin had known this from the announcement by Iruka the day before but hearing it from the Hokage made it all too real.

"In the beginning, each of you will be trained by one of them as apprentices. Later on will be teamwork and cross training between teachers. Right now I just want to have each instructor tell you what is expected and to know of the hardships this training is going to place on you. Then I will want to know from each of you if you think you can accept the challenge being laid before you. Jiraiya, you first."

Jiraiya stepped forward. "I am Jiraiya. The Toad Sage of Mt.…" He was about to continue on in his introduction dance but Tsunade hit him from behind.

"Just the basics, you baka," she snarled.

Jiraiya rubbed his head and got up. "I will be Naruto's primary instructor. I will focus on ninjutsu and making Naruto the heavy hitter of the group. After initial training of each of you, I will handle the duties of being the team overall sensei during missions until you all reach jonin rank."

Tsunade stepped up next. "I will be training you, Haruno, in the art of being a first class combat medic nin. When I am done with you, I plan on you being not a person who hides from enemies but one who can take care of herself in battle. In time, I plan on having you being equal to the task of any jonin level mission as well as being a first rate doctor."

Anko was suddenly behind Hinata crooning in her ear. "I get you little Hyuuga. I plan on having you becoming a silent but deadly killer of your enemies. Together, we will modify your family's style to suit your talents and make enemies remember why they should fear a Hyuuga in battle all over again." Anko was back in line with Jiraiya and Tsunade before Hinata could even shudder. No one had even seen how she had moved so fast.

Sarutobi chuckled at Anko's antics before getting serious again.

"All three of you are part of a plan to help Konoha over the next few years. If you think something is not going right or are having doubts about what is happening, please bring them up to an instructor or myself. The daimyo himself is aware of this training program and is focusing a keen eye on it. I have faith that all three of you can fulfill all things expected of you. That is why you were selected for this. Now, I will leave you to your teachers."

Seeing Sarutobi was finished, Jiraiya addressed the kids, "Any questions right now?"

Naruto, Hinata and Sakura were all too shocked at the moment to do more than shake their heads no.

"Good, I want all three of you to be at Training Field 16 tomorrow morning at this time for PT. If anyone is late, all three pay the price. You are a team now and all punishments will be given as a team when merited," Jiraiya said. "Now, shoo. We have a few more things to discuss with the Hokage."

The newly minted genin filed out and Sarutobi looked over the trio of instructors. "I know this will be a tough assignment for all of you, particularly for you Anko. The choice of each of you is a calculated move. I do not want clones of the Sannin here. I want an improved model. Each student will be strong in their specific assignment but I want a lot of cross training and teamwork in their training."

"Anko, I want you to focus less on what and how Orochimaru taught you and more on what you feel you should have learned as his apprentice. Jiraiya, make sure the others learn ninjutsu to supplement their training and have potential for surprising enemies. Tsunade, I want all of them able to do first aid in case one or more fall in battle. Make them a team in every sense, not merely a trio of strong individuals."

"I know my duties here, sensei" Tsunade grumbled. "That is why I said I want Haruno to be a strong jonin as well as a superior medic and doctor."

Sarutobi nodded. This is where things would get difficult. His plan was out in the open and all he could do now was wait while others picked it up. He hoped the seeds he found would blossom into something grand.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata led Sakura to their secret hideout. Their lunch yesterday had gone well. The pink haired girl seemed sincere in her desire to be friends and work with the pair. Hinata trusted Naruto's opinion in that as he seemed to be the better judge of character.

"Wow, you guys really have a great lair. So this is where all the pranks I heard about got cooked up?" Sakura asked. "You do realize that no one had any idea that this place was even around here. Academy kids would try to find the 'Lair of the Prankster' by following you Naruto, but you always shook them off. Not even Kiba could track down this place."

Sakura was walking around while going on with her minor bout of fan girl gushing. She came across the main map of Konoha the pranksters had made. It was lying open on the table with each part labeled carefully in neat writing. Important places were referenced by number to a smaller scroll on the shelves nearby for details about that compound or building. Escape routes that avoided normal patrol paths in the village were clearly marked.

"You really put a lot of planning into that stuff I guess. I never knew that pranking could be such a job in itself."

"Yeah, it was a lot of work at first but once we got all the information gathered it was a lot easier," Naruto bragged. "Hinata-chan here really helped me organize things. She's great at it. The stuff would never have been as successful without her."

Hinata blushed slightly at the praise. It warmed her heart that Naruto thought so highly of her and was now even comfortable enough to call her –chan in public. The pair had been calling the other –kun and –chan in private for months. But after an embarrassing moment near her father, Naruto and Hinata both had stopped using the familiar endearment in public. However, Hiashi still teased her gently about it. He claimed it was the duty of a father to do so but the twinkle in his eye while doing it showed he was not meaning to be malicious.

"Your map here is better than any I have seen in the Academy. I think you have all of Konoha on here."

"Actually, there's a large underground complex near the mountain that we have no idea about." Naruto pointed to a series of marks on the map that indicated doorways and hidden entrances. "That whole place is something we have no clue about. The Old Man says it is a dangerous classified area and we shouldn't pry into it. He was really serious when he warned me too. I have never seen him like that so I avoid the place. We make sure none of our normal escape routes go near it."

Hinata stood off to the side watching Naruto tell Sakura about the pranks they had done over the past year. She had not really been sure about letting anyone else into the hideout. It was their place; their sanctuary. In here she could say anything. She could express her opinion without having to worry about being put down or ridiculed for it. Naruto always listened to her advice and would never tear it apart. He would not always agree with her and sometimes tell her no; but always in a kind way. She needed that comfort right now to get out what was bothering her.

Hinata spoke up to interrupt Naruto's latest tale. "We have other things to worry about, Naruto. We didn't come here for prank stuff. We came here to talk away from everyone." Hinata blushed slightly at being so brash but she kept going. "I … Anko-sensei scares me. She wants me to be someone that strikes fear into opponents. I … I don't know if I can do that." Hinata looked down, blushed and bit at her lip after she finished.

Naruto was not sure what to do. He had not seen Hinata this shy and unsure in a long time. He stepped up close to her and lifted her chin gently to look in her eyes. "Don't worry, Hinata-chan. I believe in you. If the Old Man thinks you can do this then you can. I'm scared too. I bet Sakura is as well but none of us can let that stop us. We just do the best we can and go from there." He then gave her a small honest smile that few people ever got to see.

Hinata smiled weakly as Naruto smiled at her. She leaned forward and gave Naruto a quick hug before she realized what she had done. Then she released him with a mild squeak as she remembered they were not alone just then.

Sakura noted the moment between the pair and had been quite blatantly begun looking at the map with her back to them. After hearing the squeak, she turned and spoke up, "Are you guys hungry yet? It is gonna be lunchtime soon and I missed my breakfast. Say, Naruto, why don't you go get us some take out and bring it back here?" Sakura practically drug Naruto to the doorway. "Me and Hinata can just sit here and wait for you to get back. I am sure we could both go with something from that Chinese place near the Academy."

"But I'm not sure they are even open yet and it's all the way on the other side of town." Naruto stammered.

"Then you just wait for them to open and bring it here after that." Sakura gave Naruto a seriously scary look. "Don't worry about us, we'll just be waiting here and be having … Girl Talk"

Naruto gulped slightly and nodded. He realized now that trying to stay would be a health hazard so he made a quick escape.

A few quiet minutes passed as Hinata just kind of stood there while Sakura looked around the room. "I can sort of see why you like him, Hinata. Most boys would have just been scared stupid instead of trying to make you feel better." Hinata looked at Sakura wide-eyed. "Don't worry, Hinata. I'm not going to try to steal him away from you. I might have given up on Sasuke but Naruto is definitely not my type."

"He was right on one thing. I'm scared too. Tsunade said she wants to make me into a medic and doctor. I hadn't even thought that far ahead into my future. I was just planning on being a ninja to protect people and make a living. My dad had tried when the war was going on but he couldn't even get into the Academy." Sakura stopped again and looked at the mission clothes and masks stored on one shelf and had a thought.

"Naruto said you went on some of the pranks with him. It must have been scary to have gone with him on those."

"It was not really that scary. We planned things out ahead of time and if it looked like we couldn't do it, we would back off." Hinata walked over to the masks and picked up her Rabbit one.

"But you must have gotten almost caught a few times. I would think that would be terrifying."

"One time we almost did. We were trying to get into one clan compound and they had changed their security the same night we went in. We got stuck waiting in a ditch for about a half hour before we could pull it off." Hinata stroked the ceramic of the mask before continuing in a soft voice. "I was anxious but no scared. It's funny, but when I put on the mask; it's like I am not Hinata anymore. With it on, I am Rabbit. I am confident and sure of myself because people would only get to see the mask, and not who is under it. Rabbit has no reason to be scared."

"So all we need to do is put on a mask of sorts. Like Naruto does when he is not around you. He is a caring sensitive guy to you but he only lets other people see the loud prankster. That must be the secret of the 25th Rule; A Ninja must never show Emotion. The mask is being the person we need to be for the mission and we keep what we really are hidden away where it is safe."

Hinata smiled a bit before placing the mask back on the shelf. "It's just that I need to learn to do it without having a real mask on my face. Thank you, Sakura"

When Naruto returned with the food, both Hinata and Sakura were chatting like girls always seemed to do. He could tell something had changed there but without more information on it, he just kept his own 'mask' in place and loudly announced his return.

**

* * *

**

End Notes: Regarding the Reviews

Regarding Sasuke and how his character is completely off what many see as 'normal'. I feel that he lost a lot of respect off frame from people after word filtered around on his behavior in the fire. People saw he was not 'all that' and began to rethink their treatment of him, much as they had for Naruto. Basically, Sasuke was being dismissed to his face instead of being lauded like he had in the past. His is acting his age of 12 and pitching a fit over things. Of course, he never sees that the root of the problem was within him and blames Naruto for it. His behavior turned to being that of a bully due to wounded pride and an overblown sense of entitlement.

I do read all reviews and I do note suggestions. Noting them does not mean heeding them. If they fall into the plotline I already have, so much the better. I have the story plotted out for about 20 chapters right now. I have only a rough idea for anything after that. My time spent writing is more to fill in my outline and make it work. Whenever possible I am avoiding using fanon ideas in my writing and just pull from canon, i.e. manga and anime sources. Hinata is still shy, just not so much around Naruto. For her, a little acknowledgement goes a long way. I know it had for me at that age. Sakura is still overcoming the identity crisis she went through earlier in life instead of it happening off frame during the time skip.

**On Romance.** Any romance I get into will be more of the fluffy kind. Awkward teenager stuff as they cope with training, new ideas and feelings. It will not be easy for them as they grow but it will not become a triad. I mean the characters are only 12 right now.

**On clothing.** The 'mesh' that everyone seems to love, I read once it is a form of chain mail. Very solid and most definitely non-see through. The 'bandages' are a flexible armor wrap similar to Kevlar. It protects with a minimum of weight but is not impervious to harm

**On Chapter Size** Another person asked for longer chapters. All but one of my chapters have been over 2500 words before any notes. This puts me well over most writers posting on here. I will only say like I had earlier, I post my story at natural break points to give it a more episode like feeling.

Next Chapter: The Training Begins

Edited and Reposted


	8. The Training Begins

**Mea Culpa.** I was reminded quickly and repeatedly on my comment regarding Naruto's healing. I acknowledge that Naruto is indeed a fast healer. I did indeed miss that point of canon. I have no intention of changing what I have written in regards to the timing of his healing in my story. I still have him fully recovering in a month what would have taken a normal person 6 months to a year, if ever, and without the horrendous scarring that would have accompanied such a burn

**The Training Begins**

The morning sun shone down on Training Field 16. Naruto walked into the area and waved to Hinata who was sitting on a tree stump. Sakura was off to one side stretching. The sounds of Konoha were muted in the distance by birds and the gurgle of one of the many streams that passed through the ninja village. In the distance, a bell tolled the hour.

"Well, we are on time, I wonder where the old guy is?" Naruto wondered.

The ground suddenly shook as a tremor knocked all 3 genin off their feet. They quickly scrambled up and looked around to see where the shock had come from.

"That was not natural!" Naruto exclaimed.

A shadow fell across Naruto as he said this and Hinata yelled "Behind You!!" and ran off. Naruto looked behind him to see a frog as large as a house coming out of the sky at him. He dove away and rolled into a fighting crouch as the frog landed where he had been standing a moment before.

The frog's tongue shot out at Naruto who dodged again with a roll to his left before jumping further away. He noticed that Hinata and Sakura had both moved away from the frog into the tree line.

Hinata dove away from the incoming frog after warning Naruto and activated her Byukagan. She scanned the immediate area for any other dangers. Sakura had run off to the relative safety of the trees like Hinata had but something else was wrong. The birds were taking flight in a pattern moving towards Sakura as if fleeing from something else.

"Sakura, look out, something is coming at you from behind!!" Hinata yelled out again

Sakura looked and saw a snake the size of a horse appear from nowhere and try to swallow her. Focusing chakra into her fist, she punched the snake in the snout hard enough to cause it to stop and give the girl a chance to move. Sakura jumped back out into the clearing but found herself faced with the giant frog. The frog almost grinned as its tongue lash down at the pink haired girl.

A kunai flashed down into the oncoming tongue as Naruto moved to defend his teammate. A sizzling exploding tag attached to it went off and released a huge cloud of smoke into the clearing. Naruto appeared in the smoke next to Sakura and pulled her with him to land over near Hinata.

"Anything else close by?" he asked. "This is not a coincidence that we get attacked just as the hour sounds."

"Very good, students. You pass." The voice of Jiraiya boomed into the clearing.

The trio looked up to see Jiraiya sitting on the head of the frog in the clearing. The large snake curled around a tree nearby before Anko dropped out of the tree and a smirking Tsunade dusted off her hands as she walked out of the trees from somewhere nearby.

"What the hell was that you old coot!!! That frog could have flattened Hinata!" Naruto yelled

"That, gaki, was your final test as Academy students. All instructors are required to give a test of some kind to make a final decision on whether or not to accept the genin into their teaching. Now, all of you, Sit down and listen," Jiraiya countered.

The team sat and looked at the 3 instructors standing before them.

"Your awareness of your surroundings is horrible," Anko began. "We were all in the area but none of you noticed us. But Sakura managed to dodge my snake so I have to pass them as well."

"You reacted better than I had feared you might to the tremor I caused and were able to avoid the frog from crushing all of you. Too bad. I could have still made the poker tournament in the Capital if it had crushed you." Tsunade added trying to sound uninterested "I guess you pass."

"You called out and helped one another and not simply looked out for yourself." Jiraiya picked up the commentary again. "That means you understand the concept of teamwork and we will not have to beat it into you."

"You mean you tried to kill us to see if we could work together? Naruto screamed

"Mmmm, yeah, pretty much." Jiraiya nodded. "We had a fairly good idea of what you and Hinata can do. I read over a number of the mission reports on the pranks that you two have done for the Hokage. They show a remarkable amount of teamwork, planning and intelligence gathering ability for a pair of mere students. Well into Chunnin level ability for those skills but reports do not show how a person reacts under pressure."

"Pinkie there is the unknown factor of your group. We were already going to be taking the group of you on as students. The Hokage convinced us of that before each of us agreed to this project. She is smart and has excellent chakra control for genin but not knowing much else about her or how she might work with the rest of you, we got curious."

Naruto had kept fuming as Jiraiya went on. "So everyone gets tested like this?" he finally demanded.

"No." Jiraiya replied. "Each instructor has their own test. Some instructors are stricter than others. A few do not even give real tests and prefer to watch the genin at the exams. The students who fail their instructors testing are either returned to the Academy for a brief teamwork course or drop out altogether as ninja."

"Kakashi is the harshest one in the bunch. He goes through the bell test on all of his squads and proceeds to fail each one just to avoid being an instructor," Anko said.

"What is the 'bell test'?" Sakura asked Anko.

"You do not need to know all the specifics on the bell test but here is the general idea. The bell test is when a team of fresh genin is supposed to get a pair of bells from a jonin to see if they understand the value of teamwork. Usually whoever does worst on it or ends up without a bell gets tied to a post."

"Jiraiya got tied to the post when he messed up that one with Sensei." Tsunade added in chuckling. "He got left there all afternoon."

"I only ended up on the post because Sensei did not want your father after him. But, Kakashi finally had a team pass yesterday, even though I think he let them pass. The Uchiha, Inuzuka and Aburame team managed to get the bells away from him this year. The Inuzuka and Uchiha double-teamed him while the Aburame used his bugs to cut the strings on the bells. The Inuzuka's dog retrieved them and Uchiha snatched up both for himself. I do not think he intended for his teammates to get them but since the group showed teamwork, Kakashi passed them. I think some clan leaders wanted him to train the Uchiha alone but Kakashi could not pass the boy solo.

So not counting you three, 21 genin were accepted and passed this time. Most will need a lot of work before testing for chunnin but this year was not even close to an average year. Considering so many got pulled out of the Academy by nervous parents we were lucky to have 24 new genin."

"Enough jabbering already!" Anko interrupted. "We need to get going on these kids and let them know what is going to be happening."

Jiraiya nodded. "We are making a few modifications to the Hokage's plan. He wants a lot of cross training done with you kids. You are all advanced in a few areas but weak in many basic ones. Chakra levels and control and many basic abilities so we are going to be doing a lot more group work than we figured on right away. If you thought the Academy was tough, you are not going to like this schedule."

"6 days a week in the morning you will report here for physical conditioning and teamwork training. The best way to get better physically is to work at it. Ninja can augment their physical skills with chakra but having good physical skills before that means they will be even greater when you learn how to do them with chaka."

"For now, the afternoons will be spent in group teaching sessions. Each of us will have you for 2 days a week. It will also give us instructors some afternoons free to pursue other things. At times, one or more of us might need to leave the village on missions and a different instructor will pick up the slack or we will have someone cover for us for more specialized training. Any questions?

"Um, you mentioned 6 days Jiraiya-sensei." Hinata said. "What about the last day of the week?"

"On the last day, you rest. Nothing else. That is your day to enjoy yourselves. No training, no workouts, no assigned studying. It is your day to kick back and be kids," Tsunade told them.

"But what about training?" Sakura asked.

"Rest is as important a part of training as physical activity," Tsunade replied. "Bodies need time to recover and all the medical treatments I can give will not prevent that. If you try to get in more training time on your rest day, we will know and you WILL get dropped from this."

"Even a training fanatic like Naruto there can burn out if pushed hard enough. Do not think otherwise." Anko added. "If you need some time off even on a day we are scheduled to train, tell us. You girls especially, should realize on some days you will need to stop and deal with things. It's life, it happens."

"There will come times when you will not be able to take breaks and you should be aware of that. On missions or in battle, you cannot call a timeout. You will get prepared for times like that as well, don't worry.

"What about missions? We're ninja not students anymore!" Naruto grumbled.

"Let us worry about when you get into missions, gaki." Jiraiya growled back. "Right now you moved from being Academy students to being apprentices. Apprentices do what they are told like all other genin. But that is enough talk for now."

Anko put up a near feral smile. "It is time for torture, um training. Heh Time for 'training'. 5 laps around the area at full speed. MOVE!"

* * *

The next 2 months seemed to fly by for the team as they got into the routine set up by their instructors. Mornings were spent either under Jiraiya or Anko with physical conditioning. They were run into the ground, then dragged up to their feet to run some more. Calisthenics, weightlifting, swimming, gymnastics and tumbling, sparring, proper movement for taijutsu, weapon skills. The team was pushed harder than they had realized they could be pushed. Sakura was at a disadvantage here as she was the physically weakest. Hinata and Naruto encouraged the girl and helped her get through the workouts by offering emotional support. They all got through it together. Each week, the goals were set higher and tougher.

Afternoon group sessions were no easier.

Jiraiya worked on chakra control with them. Naruto had the worst control. As Jiraiya had told them early on, all punishments got given as a team. This also applied to rewards as well. For every exercise, the group worked on it together. Hinata and Sakura were extremely good at theirs but pushed Naruto to focus and by doing so, improved his over all control immensely. Meditation for focus. Leaf spinning gave way to tree climbing. It took Naruto several hours of seeing Hinata and Sakura standing high on the trunks encouraging him before he asked what he was doing wrong. Water walking was nearly as difficult for him but Naruto got to laugh when Sakura exhausted herself near the end of one day and sank like a stone. Other days were spent on the basics of sealing and using seals to store items in scrolls. Drawing simple seals on weapons for retrieval via chakra manipulation came next as the genin grew stronger.

Anko taught the group teamwork topics. Stealth, planning and tactics were her main focus. Naruto had the advantage here once he realized he had been doing all of that for years in his pranks. Hinata was not much behind Naruto. Sakura added a new dimension to the system Naruto and Hinata had perfected months before. They needed new formations for things they knew as a pair. In turn, all three needed to learn the duties in each tactical position of a formation since the team never knew exactly which direction and attack would come from and would need to react accordingly. In planning, Sakura shifted the known balance as well. She had a different perspective on things. As a group they looked over every prank that had been done for the Hokage re-evaluated them with Sakura's view on things. She helped them see a few options Naruto and Hinata had never considered. Anko brought all this training into practical usage. She staged exercises against the various defense points in Konoha, which brought up their skills quickly and provided extra training for the chunnin on guard duty.

Tsunade had the toughest regimen of all in store for them. She provided basic medical training for all of them. Knowledge of anatomy, chakra pathways, bodily functions, herbology and the uses in medicine both helpful and dangerous, first aid and much more. The book knowledge is where Sakura got to shine. Her photographic memory allowed her to absorb knowledge like a sponge. Hinata was never far behind but poor Naruto had the most trouble. Once Tsunade figured out that Naruto worked best when he could see how things worked as opposed to just reading it, his improvement grew much faster. Her impression of the team grew as they all excelled under her teaching. Her attitude improved as well and she shocked them all one day by giving out compliments instead of scathing remarks.

The days off were awkward at first. The girls spent the first days off with family. Naruto was pretty much left to his own devices and ended up eating himself into a ramen stupor or sleeping. Once the girls realized that their teammate was all alone, they began to include him in activities. He got invited out to help the girls shop; i.e. carry the bags. Hinata took him to a movie one time and Sakura asked both to see the museum. They even took time out to work on the city map as they learned things during the week.

The team also saw their former classmates on the days off. The other teams were stuck doing many D rank missions around town. Ino and Sakura spent time trying to update Hinata's wardrobe. Their main purpose was accomplished when they got Hinata to ditch the heavy coat she preferred for a more practical outfit during training. Plain charcoal gray sweat suits replaced it. Ino switched the purchase for a smaller size when Hinata was distracted and the timid girl had a much more visible shape underneath her workout clothes now. In truth, Ino had tried for 2 sizes too small but Sakura had stopped her at one. She knew Hinata would never leave the house with skintight sweatpants on.

Naruto got to spend some time with Choji, Kiba and Shikamaru munching on BBQ and telling tall tales about training to one another. Shino and Sasuke were always invited and Shino would join them on occasion but Sasuke would just sneer and go out to train alone. Kiba embellished the boring D-rank missions very handsomely. To hear him tell it, Tora the daimyo's wife's cat was 6 feet tall with sabreteeth and razor sharp claws. Naruto had no stories to tell in that he had never done a D-rank yet. He did however see the cat often during his morning workouts being chased by various genin teams. He passed on information regarding Tora's habits to Kiba and Shikamaru that made that mission a very simple capture for the their teams.

* * *

The downside to all the training work slowly began to grate on Naruto. He wanted to go out on missions. He wanted to learn new jutsu. He was tired of just training and studying that had no purpose at all in his mind. Soon after the 2-month mark he simply refused to work with Jiraiya on control.

"I am sick of this Jiraiya-sensei. I do all the exercises you want but we never DO anything. I want to learn more jutsu!"

"Not learning anything huh? Well then smart guy, I have a task for you. I want you to make me 1 clone. That's it, a single perfect clone. Bet you can't," Jiraiya taunted.

"FINE!" Naruto made the hand signs and a single clone poofed into being. "There! You see!" Then as Jiraiya laughed, Naruto yelled at him in stereo. "What are you laughing at now!"

Hinata answered as Jiraiya just kept laughing. "Naruto, you just made a single clone and you did not even have to focus on it." She grinned at Naruto as she understood why Jiraiya was laughing. "In under a second, you controlled your chakra enough to make a single clone. It would have taken you a minute of focus back at the Academy."

"Way to go, Naruto," Sakura cheered.

Naruto stopped as if pole axed. He HAD just controlled his chakra that well without even realizing it. He tried to act cool to hide his embarrassment over it. "Well, he still could teach us some new jutsu to make use of all this control." Hinata and Sakura just looked at each other for a second before pouncing on the pouting boy and tickling him until he gave up on trying to be grumpy over it.

Jiraiya met with Anko and Tsunade that night. "They are ready for the next stage," he told them.

* * *

**End Notes:** Reading and watching Naruto, I was never comfortable with the fanon idea that only 9 rookies pass the tests. I am quite sure it seems that way if you do not think things through. The teams we see in it are just that; the ones we see. Ten teams are implied in episode 3, so that means at least 30 genin are assigned out. I dismiss Kakashi's statement of a 66 failure rate as being accurate in a literal sense. I see that as mind games on his part. The Chunnin exam in the anime has 72 Leaf genin participating. If you have only 9 genin passing each term, it would take 4 years at 2 terms a year to get that many genin without any dropping out and no casualties at all. Not very likely.

**Review responses**:

The missing Hyuuga branch member is out on worker's comp and recovering nicely. He is grateful he did not wear the red tunic that morning.

Naruto's problem with fire will be addressed next chapter. It is an integral part of my plot and a way to keep him from seeming overpowered by what he can do already.

My using a number for the dead in the fire was intentional. I wanted it to be seen as a big tragic event. It is the major event on which this AU tangent was founded. Making it have less of an impact by using vague language would make the plot line skewing off canon seem less likely.

Next Chapter: It's All About Control


	9. It's All About Control

I guess only 1 reviewer got my joke about the 'red tunic' and the nameless throwaway character. I don't own the joke or Naruto.

**It's all about Control**

3 teachers looked at 3 students and said the same thing.  
"It's all about control"

* * *

Tsunade said it to Sakura as the girl stood over a fish. The girl was focusing her chakra into the fish to keep it alive out of water.

"The body does not normally produce healing chakra. When you generate healing chakra, it is all based on chakra manipulation. Some ninja manipulate it into elemental power but medic ninja use it to supercharge the natural healing in their patients. Done correctly, the process will heal the person. But if you do it wrong, your patient could die."

"I don't want anyone to die, Tsunade-sensei." The girl was fighting for control of her chakra as her attention was being intentionally split by her teacher. Nothing she had learned in the past had been as difficult as this exercise. Bruises and cuts were child's play compared to keeping something else alive solely through her ability to control the flow of healing chakra.

"The body of the person you are trying to heal will resist you. Its own chakra does not want to be pushed aside. You need to constantly keep focus on your goal when healing. You need to keep the healing chakra flowing at a constant rate against an inconsistent resistance. You try to force it and you will flood the system and cause more damage. If you use too little, the patient will deteriorate and in this exercise, die."

Sakura struggled as the fish jerked around under her hands. She had to keep the chakra flowing into the fish for the healing to work and pull in oxygen to the water she was holding on the fish's gills. It still took a lot of concentration to hold a fist sized ball of water. The skills learned from water walking kept the surface tension high enough to make the mass of water solid enough to hold. The skills learned from tree climbing kept the mass attached to her hand. Then she had to push the healing chakra through the water ball into the fish.

Once the healing chakra got into the fish, she had to make sure it did not overwhelm the natural flow inside the fish. Too much and the flow would be stopped; too little and the healing flow would not do its job.

It took precise control. She had always had that. Here was where she needed all that skill. Every lesson so far led to this point. One lesson being important to the next lesson and it all meant using that control.

The timer Tsunade had set up clicked along. She was not even sure how much time was passing. The fish and keeping it alive was all she could focus on right now. She could feel her own chakra reserves draining down. She would need to stop soon but she would not fail either. Chakra took a combination of physical and spiritual energy. It responded to her will. Today, her will was adamant and her chakra responded.

"Time," Tsunade said. "Well done Sakura."

Sakura relaxed slightly and kicked the leg of the collapsible table. The table tilted and allowed the 10 pound fish to slide into the holding tank. She was tired and wanted to stop but the assignment was not over yet. She lifted the table back into position and rolled up the scrolls that aided her. When everything was in position, she turned and faced her teacher.

"You kept the test subject alive for a half hour outside of its natural environment. It seems to have no obvious ill effects but we will follow up on it in a few hours. You pass your first exam, Sakura."

Sakura felt like jumping up and down. Inside, she was but outside she just bowed to her teacher and took the time given to rest before the next exam.

* * *

Hinata listened intently to Anko as the jonin spoke on control.

"You must maintain control of a fight. Not just of yourself but of the overall situation when possible. If you are forced to react to your opponent, then they have the initiative and control what will happen. There are several ways to get that control."

"One way is to have intimidation on your side. You can simply be so scary that people will automatically shift to a defensive posture upon seeing you. That is one that I cultivate and so do most Hyuuga."

"A second method is to have a serious reputation working for you. The Sannin, Copycat Kakashi, the Professor Sandaime Hokage, the Yellow Flash Yondaime Hokage. Those people are the most recent in Konoha to have a well known working reputation. By them any of them just showing up, the enemy was already at a mental disadvantage."

"The most effective way is to simply go into battle and overpower your opponent. This will give you either one of the first two later on. Going in and just destroying the opposition through brute force has won more battles than anything else in the world."

Anko looked down at Hinata. "You, little one, have none of those things working for you yet. What we need to do is work on with you is controlling yourself. We work on making your movements as controlled as possible, the best effect for the least effort." Anko paused to throw a kunai knife at Hinata's head. Hinata bent her entire body and twisted to the side to avoid the thrown dagger.

"Good, you avoided that one knife, but you lacked control in doing so. You wasted a lot of movement and in doing so allowed me to take all initiative away from you. If I wanted to I could have you dancing around avoiding kunai all day. You already instinctively know a better way and have demonstrated it once."

"The day you protected your family and took down that team of Chunnin you were at a disadvantage. However, you found a way to turn it around and take control of things without thinking about it. You played off their thought that you were weak and took down one by surprise. Then you moved and again took the second by surprise with a move no one thought you could do. The last one, you took down by taking best path to victory. You took a minor hit in order to get inside his defense and kill him. So, why did you take that hit?"

"If I had let him force me back he would have left with my sister. It was the only option I could see to prevent that," Hinata said.

"Exactly, you would have let him take control of things if you had reacted in any other fashion. That is why you defeated him. If you had more experience you would have seen way to avoid taking damage but for a novice you had done quite well."

"Now back to the dagger. If you wanted to avoid it, simply move your head and torso, not your whole body. You need to flow smoothly in your actions. You need to be like water. I know Hyuuga taijutsu is based on standing firm and blocking attacks but you are not built for that sort of taijutsu. You need something else. Something that is unique but also distinctly Hyuuga."

"Water can tear down mountain. It carves great canyons into the earth. It corrodes metals and douses fires. It keeps air from lungs and drowns people. Water flows up to the things that impede it. It presses against them, finds a weak spot and exploits that. That is the point we bring in what you have. Hyuuga gentle fist exploits the weak spots. Your taijutsu disrupt the chakra that flows in your enemies and cuts that off. Your current problem, Hinata, is that you cannot get to those points against large stronger opponents."

This brings us back to control. You control your movements and you control where you can go with them. You can fight at a distance with ninjutsu or bring the fight to arm's length and use taijutsu. The best way right now to control you movements is to learn to not get hit with a minimum of effort. Now dodge my kunai without moving your feet from where they are"

Anko jumped back and threw a new kunai at Hinata. Hinata twisted to one side and avoided it. Before she could turn back, a second one cut into her jacket. "Do not take your eyes from your opponent, Hinata. If you do, you can die." More knives flew at Hinata after that.

By the end of the session, Hinata was bleeding slightly from many small cuts and her jacket was shredded beyond repair. She was not as tired as she had expected she might be but all the physical training she had been through the past 2 months had done wonders for her endurance. Anko said she was pleased with Hinata's workout and Hinata felt much better in spite of her cuts.

The next teaching session with Anko, Hinata found herself going to a tea house. Inside, Anko sat waiting patiently as Hinata got dressed in the formal robes that were waiting for her.

"Today is another lesson about control. This one is actually one of my favorites. It might not seem like it, but tea ceremony is about nothing but control. All the movements you make must be smooth, controlled and precise. To be perfect at it, you must have focus and grace."

Hinata smiled slightly. She had not thought her wild teacher had such love for tea ceremony. Hinata had enjoyed learning of it with her mother many years before but had fallen out of practice. It was one sign of being a lady was one thing her mother had always told her. '_A woman who can do tea ceremony flawlessly, no matter what their rank or birth, will always be seen as a Lady._'

Hinata sat as her teacher went through the entire ceremony once. The girl admired the grace of the woman in front of her. Then she had to do it as well. Hinata seemed clumsier than Anko in her motions but was able to get through it.

"It will take you a lot of practice to be able to learn it flawlessly, Hinata. But it is more than just the motions involved. Just like in combat, you must have the necessary confidence in yourself to be able to perform. Without that confidence, anything you do will seem clumsy. With it, you could perform the ceremony perfectly before a daimyo with the lives of your loved ones on the line and succeed."

* * *

Jiraiya stared down at Naruto. "Everything you need to succeed as a ninja you already should know. Everything else I could teach you just makes that easier. All it takes is controlling yourself. A good portion of that is knowing who and what you are, your strengths and your limitations. Your problem right now is you are very unaware of what your limitations are."

"I am going to be Hokage one day, Jiraiya-sensei. I'm only just a genin right now. That is the only limitation I see." Naruto said and grumped slightly when Jiraiya laughed.

"Oh, you are going to be Hokage huh? Well, listen up gaki. If you keep going around like that, all you are going to be is dead. You are arrogant and if you go up against an opponent who used their brains, you would be down in seconds," Jiraiya taunted.

"I am able to keep away from ANBU. They can't touch me when I try to escape from them."

"They can't touch you because they were under orders not to harm you. If they can at you with intent to kill; you would be on a slab in the morgue. Stop over estimating yourself. You are not that good."

Naruto growled and jumped at Jiraiya who simply stepped to the side and slammed a fist into Naruto's solar plexus. "You see? Mere seconds to lay you out."

Naruto tried to catch his breath and muttered out, "No fair, you cheated."

Jiraiya laughed again, "Boy, being a ninja is all about cheating. From the moment you began to move, I had you beaten because I controlled it all. I got you to react to my taunts and as soon as you did, you already had lost."

"When you did your pranks, you had control. When you were fighting the Uchiha, you had control until you let it slip away. You had him beaten. Don't you realize that? You had him stone cold beaten and you LET him win. You lost control."

Naruto shouted "I didn't lose anything, he ch … ." Naruto stopped as he got what Jiraiya was telling him. Sasuke had been barely able to stand after using his fireball technique. He had just stood there and let the teme get in a free shot.

"Ah, so realization dawns. So, gaki, why again did the Uchiha win? I was there watching it, so I know. You were the only person to EVER hit him in an Academy match. He was frustrated and tired. You were in total control of the battle. So, why did you lose?"

Naruto looked down and quietly muttered, "Because I froze up."

Jiraiya nodded "Yes, because you froze up when he shot that fireball at you. You reacted correctly by getting out of the way before it came out. If you had not, you would have gotten roasted when you froze. He took advantage of a limitation that neither one of you knew about and he won."

"Next question, how do we remove that limitation? Word of you being afraid of fire is something that would get around quickly in our line of work. You would never make Hokage with that kind of problem," Jiraiya told Naruto.

Naruto seemed down after hearing that. "So what can I do, Jiraiya-sensei?"

"We just have to train you to get over your fear. We cannot get rid of it entirely, but we can get you not react to it so much. Go get your camping gear; we are sleeping out here tonight."

After dark, Naruto sat on a sleeping bag while Jiraiya built up a large campfire. Naruto sat well back from it while Jiraiya stoked it. "Come a bit closer Naruto, it will not hurt you." Jiraiya told him. "Move as close as you can to it."

Naruto gulped slightly but moved to about 5 feet away and sat down. The flames climbed into the night as Jiraiya poked at the fire. "Fire is an old thing, Naruto. Fire was around before people began using it and will still be around long after people are gone from the world. It is a simple force of nature. It is natural to respect and fear it." He sat in silence for a few more minutes and watched Naruto. The boy was nervously looking at the dancing flames. Jiraiya looked off to the other side of the fire and gestured with a slight motion of his head. The flames suddenly surged and shot upward about 20 feet high.

Naruto screamed and crab crawled back from the fire. "What the heck was that!!" the boy shouted.

Jiraiya pointed at a small orange frog illuminated by the higher flames. "That was just Gamakichi spitting oil into the fire. That is his job tonight. I told him we are working on your fear of fire tonight and he volunteered to help us out."

"Yo" said Gamakichi and waved one webbed foot.

"He was trying to roast me!" Naruto cried out and pointed at the small frog.

"Nonsense, he was just making the fire a bit bigger for a few seconds. See? It's already back to normal. Come back to where you were sitting, Naruto."

Naruto began to edge his way back to his previous seat when Gamakichi spat oil into the fire again. The flames leapt into the night once more. Naruto stopped moving forward.

Jiraiya stood and walked over to Naruto and squatted down to the boy. He spoke in quiet even tones, "Naruto, there will be times in your ninja career that you will need to face fire jutsu. There are times when doing so you will get hurt and likely get burnt. This little exercise will not get you over your fear of fire tonight, or the next time we do it. But you will need to face your fears and work on getting past them. All I can do is give you the chance to do it at your pace."

"I believe that you are able to do this. So does Hinata, Sakura and the Hokage. But in the end, the choice needs to be yours. You have to need to want to get past your fear. Simply get as close as you can until you feel uncomfortable then just relax until you can move closer."

Jiraiya went back to his seat at the edge of the fire. He had to let Naruto make his way close to the flames by his own choice. If he could get closer on his own, the battle over his fear was halfway won. After about a half hour, Naruto was back to about 5 feet away; even with Gamakichi spitting oil into the flames at odd intervals.

Jiraiya decided that was a good enough start for tonight and he should get on to his next step. Getting Naruto to stop worrying about the flames and react somewhat normally around them.

"Since you are close enough to the fire to read, you can read to me. I brought a fascinating book."

"Does it have great jutsu in it, Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto got all excited thinking about learning a new jutsu.

"No, something even better than jutsu," Jiraiya said.

"There is nothing better than jutsu," Naruto argued.

"There is a lot more to life than jutsu, Naruto. I am not just a great ninja. I will have you know I am a renowned author as well as a popular man with the ladies on top of being a Sannin and Toad Sage."

Jiraiya moved back up close to the fire and pulled out an orange book.

"You can write?" Naruto looked skeptical but moved closer to be able to see the book and took it from his teacher.

"'Kagome reached down to take hold of …' THIS IS A PERVERTED BOOK!!" Naruto screamed at Jiraiya before throwing the book into the fire. Jiraiya reached for the book but Gamakichi took that moment to spit some oil into the flames and the book flared to ashes in seconds.

Jiraiya looked at the flames in tears. "That was a limited run beta edition of original Icha Icha Paradise, signed by me! It was priceless!"

"Priceless my butt. You're nothing but a pervert trying to get a kid to read stuff like that, just a pervy sensei. Or a pervy sage."

'I did not think he would react that poorly to my book' Jiraiya thought as Naruto kept muttering all about how perverts should be shunned. 'I saw the way he was looking at Hinata in those training clothes and figured he was ready for something like that. Now I need to shut him up about it before he tells Tsunade or she is going to pound me into the ground'

"You know, Naruto. If you keep this little episode quiet, I might be able to teach you a really cool jutsu that few people in the village are capable of doing." Jiraiya could see Naruto start drooling at the offer. 'Hook, line and sinker, mwahahaha'

"Really, Pervy Sage? What is it?"

"First, never call me that and second, it is called the Kage Bunshin, the Shadow Clone."

* * *

Next Chapter: The Missions Begin (plus, a look into the other teams)

* * *

Review Responses:  
One reviewer mentioned that the genin at the Chunnin Exams were all older and my math regarding numbers of graduates would be off. That is true from what I have seen that many are older. The Rookie 9 are special and referred to as that because they all were nominated for the exam on their first chance out of the Academy and they all made it past the 2nd part of the test.

I had not intended to argue this point until I actually hit the Chunnin Exams but I will get into it now. The exam is not the only method in which a genin can make chunnin. People who have been in the military know how promotions up to a certain point are guaranteed. The Chunnin Exams are meant to be a showcase for the best and the brightest genin a hidden village has to offer. I feel the 72 participants were nominated from hundreds of genin. Leaf had the home field so to speak so they sent some teams that might not have participated if they had to travel to another village; the Rookie 9 being in that group. The daimyos and other nobility make judgments and hiring decisions based on what they see in the exams. No village is going to be sending less than their best if possible. I feel that some genin are quietly promoted to chunnin when their skills merit it and some are never allowed past being genin; all without some of them ever seeing the inside of an exam. Naruto still being a genin in Part 2 of the manga is based more on political reasons than actual ability. Naruto shows jonin level ability and consistently defeats jonin level opponents. He remains a genin not because of a failure to pass a Chunnin Exam but rather it allows them to keep him closer to the village as shown by the conversation between Tsunade and the advisors.


	10. The Missions Begin

I don't own Naruto this chapter either. My kid says she has dibs before I can

**The Missions Begin**

Three ninja chased their quarry through the brush and out into an open field. In a flash of chakra smoke, the fleeing enemy was surrounded by a horde of blonde haired ninja. The orange highlights on the black clothing gleamed in the sunlight as all the blondes converged on the target. The cornered prey readied its weapons, as it knew it was caught. It would not go down without a fight. Death would be preferable to returning to that hell prison and its warden. It had been able to escape many times but it had been always caught and returned. One of the blonde hunters was in striking range. The weapons struck outward in a vain attempt to regain freedom.

"OWWW, that cat has sharp claws. It feels like they were dipped in acid or something," Naruto complained. "Now I know why Kiba claims it was so tough. Maybe it is not just a plain old cat like people claim." Hinata giggled as she carried the captured Tora back toward the Hokage's office. The cat seemed to like her for some reason as it purred in a contented fashion.

Sakura had looked over the scratches Naruto received and pronounced them as not serious and that he should quit whining so much. "You should have used your shadow clones to make the capture, Naruto."

"I did, but that demon cat destroyed 3 of them before I could get my real hands on it. I even know where it tore into the clones. I know Jiraiya-sensei said I would learn whatever the clones do but I didn't think I would feel like that. It feels like I was in two places at once if I think about it too hard."

Anko looked over the genin team as they all walked toward the tower. "The feeling you get from it is one reason why so few jonin like using that technique even if more know it than will admit to it. Without your stamina and insane chakra levels, you would not be able to use more than a few at once. Still, the cat does seem a little meaner its grandfather. I had to catch that one at least a dozen times. I should have let my snake summons eat it back then and saved generations of genin this mission."

* * *

Anko slowed a bit to watch the team from behind. They were coming along nicely. 3 months of intensive physical training had left all three genin in near peak shape for their age. Their endurance and chakra levels outmatched some chunin teams. The teamwork training had gone equally as beneficial as they functioned as a unit more often than not.

The individual training was showing good results as well. Sakura's progress was making Tsunade glad she had come back to Konoha. The girl simply was amazing in her control and with the physical training increasing her chakra capacity daily; Sakura would soon be approaching Shizune's overall level of power even if overall knowledge lagged by over a decade.

Hinata was coming along nicely as well. She was still raw in terms of her developing taijutsu style. Finding a properly balanced feel for it was very tricky for Anko. Anko had wanted to teach the girl a lot more of her personal style. Since that was learned from the Traitor, Anko knew it would not go over well with the Hyuuga or the village in general. Hiashi had said straight out that he would remove Hinata if Anko tried to make his daughter into her clone in the manner Gai had done with Rock Lee. The few snake-based jutsu the two were incorporating into the new Water Style Gentle Fist style were going to be quite a shock for opponents when used.

Naruto was a puzzle. In overall knowledge, the girls made Naruto seem slow until all 3 teachers realized the boy had never really learned a lot of basic things in his youth. Social skills that most took for granted were things he had never learned because they all had family and friends to teach them. The boy was crude and rarely took the time to groom himself past washing up everyday. At first, he would belch and pass gas like they were the funniest things in the world then laugh like he was a toddler.

The girls had him whipped really quickly in regard to appropriate behavior near them. Sakura got mean and scary to him, but he took that in stride. However, when Hinata gave him a sad look after he put out a monster belch at lunch; he blushed down to his neck and apologized in a very contrite voice. When he made a mistake and disappointed someone who was kind to him; he felt deeply ashamed and regretted his actions. Naruto had only a few people who looked out for him until the past year or so. Until he made himself into a hero, a good portion of the village had simply pretended he did not exist. His lack of manners had been another way to draw attention to himself. Few had been overtly cruel to the boy but many had simply ignored him. He did not want to lose those people who cared.

'The boy has a quick mind. He learns the first time you show him something. He could read things multiple times and never get it. He could have it explained to him and he had a better chance of learning. But show him something then have him go back and read about it, he had perfect comprehension. Jiraiya said the boy learned shadow clones from him in under an hour. In battlefield tactics, the boy was a genius. In the weeks since learning the shadow clone, he had incorporated it into his fighting style. Shadow clones would scout out ahead of the team and become instant fodder to probe for weaknesses in the training sessions against the teachers or whoever was their opponent for that day.

Overall, the team was more than prepared enough for the most boring part of a genin's existence; the D rank missions. Tsunade pulled rank in the hospital to avoid running the team through this first one. Jiraiya would be handling about half the missions but he had to deal with informants outside of the village this week. That left Anko to handle the group's first mission as jonin sensei. Of course, if would have to be the infamous Tora right off the bat.

'I REALLY should have let that snake eat its grandfather,' she thought once more as she realized she had slowed down enough for the team to notice and stop to wait for her.

* * *

Sasuke sulked as he noticed 'Team Apprentice' walk toward the Hokage's office with the demon cat. He really should have killed that thing the first time Team 7 had to capture it. Kakashi would not allow it as the owner was a steady source of income to the village genin. He really disliked the forced days off that had been implemented by that advice of that Sannin, Tsunade. He needed to train MORE not sit around and get weaker. People like that loser Naruto were starting to pass him up. 'Ever since the loser got lucky and hit me in the Genin Exam, people have been giving him praise that should be mine. He has nothing going for him and he gets a Sannin for a teacher instead of someone from a clan who deserves it.'

Even the pink haired harpy was getting stronger while he languished under the barely there training of Kakashi. He did not need teammates to slow him down like this and team drills were more bothersome than days off. He glared at the team once more before turning his attention back to the jutsu scroll from his family library. At least they could not stop him from learning by reading about new jutsu.

'Can't they see I have to get stronger? I have to make Him pay. No matter what it takes.' Sasuke thought as his soul slipped further into darkness.

* * *

The remainder of Team 7 and all of Team 10 were at that moment enjoying a day at the community pool together. Even Shino had come today. That in itself seemed a reason to celebrate. He remained covered by his coat and sunglasses but he was with them. Kiba was romping around the pool with Akamaru. Choji practiced doing cannonball dives from the high platform in between bags of chips. Shikamaru watched the clouds roll past and just shut his eyes when the sun shone down on his face. Ino had tried to gather some attention to herself by wearing a bikini. Her early developing figure got the attention of most of the guys up to about age 15 until some 17-year-old chunin girls had arrived. All the boys who had been offering to help her with lotion followed the older girls like Akamaru after a free steak. Now bored, she tried to talk about events with her friends.

"Kiba, didn't you invite grumpy face to this little party?"

"Yes, I told him about it. He said he had 'better things to do'. The idiot wants to go out training on his days off. He only works on jutsu and weapons when he is by himself anyhow. Me and Akamaru followed him one day. For hours, he kept trying to do some fancy stunt stuff with kunai and he looked exhausted after. I would try telling him to work on his physical endurance but he would likely claim I was trying to say he is weak. It's not like he does a whole lot when we do train anyhow. He only does the minimum Kakashi tell us to do on drills and tells us we are wasting his time. I really just want to smack the guy but he still can beat me in a fight in spite of his attitude."

Shino spoke up "The Uchiha could be a great ninja. He prefers to think that strong jutsu and individual effort will always be better than teamwork. It does not make sense. The combined effort of several working together towards a common goal will always be greater than the sum of individual efforts."

"I know Shino, "Kiba said back. "One wolf cannot take down a bear but a pack can. The thing about him that pisses me off is he never really works as hard at things. He gets it in one attempt and wants to work on something else while we need a bit more effort to get up to the same results. Then he just stands around sulking while Kakashi gets us up to speed on any new training. He never does anything physical while waiting like Kakashi suggests. He doesn't see that he is letting himself stay the same while we get stronger. Then he blames us for holding him back when its all him."

Choji sat down on his deck chair dripping from his latest plunge. "Don't just blame him for everything, Kiba. He was not always like this. Back before his clan was killed off, he was a very different person. He smiled and laughed and enjoyed himself. I know you came into the class after that so you did not see the same change in him I have."

"Sometimes you have too big a heart Choji. Every time we try to be nice and include him like you want, he just throws it back in our face. I know he had a rough time losing his clan and all. That still does not give him the right to be a jerk to everyone," Ino countered as she stole a handful of chips from the bag the plump boy had just opened. "It's been years since then and all he does is keep wallowing in self pity and talk about revenge. 'I must get stronger to avenge my clan.' Geez, if he says that one more time to me when I invite him to these get-togethers; I am going to possess his moody butt, dress him up like Naruto used to and let him hang from a light pole." She got quiet as she began munching on the chips.

Choji looked at his now half empty bag and back at Ino before sighing and began eating again. 'It's time to change the topic. Talking about Sasuke brings everyone down.' "At least you are not dieting all the time anymore, Ino."

Ino paused in her munching. "Well, the new physical standards Tsunade-sama got passed for all kunoichi are really high. The day off from training is really nice but all the stuff we girls have to do now is harsh. I don't even need to diet anymore. I work it all off in sweat." Ino made a face at that. "the only upside is it lets me eat more and still keep my hot figure." She paused to pose for a second in front of the boys. The boys all just looked at her clueless for a few seconds in silence before Ino yelled, "Compliments please." The boys stuttered out a few lame compliments before she could hit them.

The pair of chunin kunoichi from earlier strolled by. Ino noticed they were both a head taller and a couple of cup sizes bigger than she was. She looked down at her own chest and sighed before munching on the chips again. Sometimes it sucked to be only 13.

* * *

'Team Apprentice' got many D rank missions over the next month. Naruto wanted to use his shadow clones for them but the teachers would not let him. Delivery missions at least allowed them to pretend the jobs were important even if they never left the village. Jiraiya tried to make the assignments more interesting by bringing in some training concepts. Gathering leaves could be accomplished by using simple wind jutsu. Repairing damaged training fields was made easier by using low level earth jutsu to fill in holes or to dig up and replace training logs. Herb gathering became a way to expand the genin's knowledge of plant life.

Things were going well until the day the team was assigned the task of trash cleanup at the river below the waterfall.

Anko was in charge of the team that day. Jiraiya was supposed to be back from an intelligence trip tomorrow. She had the genin walking out on the water and looking on the bank for rubbish. She kept things lively with the occasional thrown kunai. Naruto generated several shadow clones to retrieve them for her. Naruto would move aside when the kunai came at him; as did Sakura. Hinata would lean her body slightly or just move her head to make the knives miss. Out on the water, it seemed more like she was dancing than avoiding.

A clone went to go fetch a kunai that went into the bushes on the far side of the river. It searched around trying to find the kunai when it heard a slight giggle nearby. The clone stood still and in a few minutes another giggle sounded. The clone crept closer to the source and heard the waterfall getting louder. Now it could hear splashing and laughing further out and another giggle close by. The clone used Naruto's stealth jutsu and moved closer still. Peering through a bush, he saw Jiraiya looking out at women playing under the waterfall.

"Sensei, aren't you supposed to be out of the village today?" the clone asked

Jiraiya jumped and saw Naruto standing behind him. 'Crud, how did he find me out here?' Jiraiya thought quickly.

"Sensei, why are you hiding in the bushes peeping at the women?" the clone's voice kept getting louder as he went on. "It's bad enough that you write those perverted books but to be peeping on women is disgusting!"

"I need to do research to be able to write my books. Besides, I have seen you checking out Hinata during training. All those shy looks over at her. Bet you have all kinds of perverted thoughts running through that blonde head of yours," Jiraiya retorted.

The clone went white faced for a moment as what Jiraiya said registered before turning a deep red in anger, "I DON'T THINK ABOUT HINATA LIKE THAT! I ADMIT SHE IS GORGEOUS AND THE CLOSEST THING TO A PRINCESS THAT I HAVE EVER MET BUT SHE IS MY BEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD AND I DON'T LIKE HER LIKE THAT!"

In the silence following the clone's shout, Jiraiya heard a whimper. He turned to see Anko and the genin team. Both Naruto and Hinata were deep crimson. The clone just muttered, "Uh, oh crud" and dispelled.

Hinata looked at the cloud of smoke disperse then at Naruto. He rubbed the back of his head as he seemed to blush even harder. A tear ran down Hinata's face followed quickly by several more. She bit her lip before turning and running off sobbing. After a moment, Sakura ran after the fleeing Hyuuga.

Anko stepped past the genin up to Jiraiya and began beating on him.

Naruto just stood there as Hinata fled. His face quickly paled, as he looked at the retreating girls then to Anko beating on Jiraiya.

He had no idea what to do now.

* * *

Next Chapter: Errors, Embarrassments and a Rescue in the Wave Country

Review Notes:

Finding character development for Sasuke is a difficult task in the first part of the manga. In the episodes I have seen, he shows no redeeming factors in his personality. He is arrogant, selfish, has no respect for others and does not hide his disdain for anyone. The only time he showed a glimmer of something worthwhile was in the flashbacks of prior to his family being killed. The anime showed more but I think that was more from it being a kid's show than anything else. His hitting Sakura upside the head as he was leaving Konoha ruined a moment when he might have shown something. You cannot tell if he was truly feeling gratitude or just using the moment to get inside Sakura's guard. I do feel he is not beyond redemption but it would take something massive to shock him into realizing where he is taking himself.

Naruto is not over his fear of fire. He is learning to cope with it but will not be over it any time soon. As far as the idea of using a genjutsu on him would be a serious betrayal in the trust he has for his teachers. After what happened the past 2 chapters with Jiraiya, I think Naruto' trust in the man is seriously shaken as it is.

My posting has once again caught up to what I have already written out. It might be as long as a week to get the next chapter up. The kiddo has a school chorus thing all day on Saturday so my writing time will be seriously cut down. The downside of only owning a desktop computer I guess.


	11. Errors, Embarrassment and a Rescue

I still don't own Naruto, just the ideas I present in this fanfiction.

**Errors, Embarrassment and a Rescue in the Wave Country**

A small dog ran at top speed towards Konoha. He had left the Wave country the night before and with luck he should arrive in Konoha in the late afternoon.

Hinata ran off heedless of her destination. All that mattered right now was getting away. Maybe if she ran far enough she could stop hearing what Naruto had said, _'I don't like her like that'. _It kept echoing in her mind. He didn't like her. Her crush and personal hero did not like her. She tripped as tears flooded her eyes at that thought. She rolled to a stop in the middle of a training field then curled into a fetal position and cried harder.

Sakura managed to catch up to Hinata after the heiress fell. She knelt next to the sobbing girl and gently stroked the girl's head as she vented her pain. Sakura was not sure what else to do so she just sat, feeling that being there for Hinata was all she could do right now. She was confused why Hinata had broken down so badly. They had heard Naruto's clone in the bushes start to shout at someone, something about perverts. Then the even louder shout about 'gorgeous', 'princess' and 'best friend' then ending with 'I don't like her like that'. Sakura knew she was missing something here but could not place what it was. Apparently Jiraiya had said something to the shadow clone thinking it was the real Naruto and that upset it somehow. That led to the shouting and finally Hinata running off in tears. Still, just shouting like Naruto's clone had done was pretty damning evidence of something bad going on between them. Sakura recalled how she had felt when Sasuke had finally driven her affections off. It felt like the end of the world. She had gotten through her loss and she would help Hinata get through hers.

* * *

Safe to say, Anko was peeved. She had been chasing the pervert for an hour and finally caught up to him when his wounds from his initial beating slowed him down. First, she had beaten the Sannin unconscious then she allowed several different snakes bite him. The resulting combination of venom had left Jiraiya unable to move but allowed him to feel everything that was happening to him. After he awoke, Anko took her time to slowly torture the man by shredding his notes and any copy of his books he had with him. Finally, she got mad and talked to him.

"You do realize your antics might have just destroyed this little team we have been building, Jiraiya? You were not even supposed to be back in town yet and there you were, peeping at swimming girls. The snakes I sent after Hinata and Sakura tell me that Hinata is pretty much a basket case right now. The ones keeping an eye on Naruto tell me he is still back where we left him with a confused look on his face. You managed in the span of one afternoon to ruin something the Hokage has been trying to make for years. Yes, he has tried to make a team to inspire Konoha before. We ended up with Itachi going nuts and a dead clan. If one of these kids goes bad over this little episode, you will live to regret it. Now, I have to go see if I can salvage my apprentice."

Anko dragged the Toad Sage to the hospital and dropped him in front of Tsunade. The Slug Sannin just looked from Jiraiya to Anko and back to Jiraiya wanting an explanation but Anko just turned and leaped away with a look of disgust on her face. Jiraiya knew he was in even bigger trouble now.

* * *

Sakura had sat with Hinata for a couple of hours now. She had noticed the snakes loitering on the edge of the training field but they merely sat soaking up sunlight. 'Well, at least Anko will know where to find us' she thought. Hinata had cried for a time then had fallen asleep from it. Sakura did not know what else to do for the heiress. Her own strength was now enough to easily carry Hinata home but she could not bring Hinata back to her clan in this state. Hiashi would go on a rampage if he saw Hinata like this. Sakura sighed and waited for Anko to catch up to them.

Shortly after noon, Anko finally came up to the girls. Hinata was still asleep so Sakura got up and walked over to woman. "You had better head to the hospital, Sakura. Tsunade might need a little help with putting Jiraiya back together again." Sakura just nodded and ran off, hoping never to anger the scary Anko.

Anko sat next to Hinata and nudged the girl gently. The pearl eyes opened as the sleeping girl woke with a startled jerk. "Up and at 'em, little Miss Sunshine. We need to talk about this morning. What was all that about?"

Hinata looked for a moment then slowly nodded. She took a deep breath and tried to find her voice.

"What … what Naruto-kun said this morning hurt, Anko-sensei."

"Yeah. Hearing the person you care about most suddenly say he does not like you like that at the top of his lungs might be a problem. Jiraiya was not the most informative source on what happened," Anko chuckled.

Hinata nodded and felt the need to just unload everything in her heart. Her sensei had been through pain so could understand better than most.

"I … I love him. But now I am not sure what to think. Before I met Naruto-kun, everything in my life was bad. I was a failure. My father, my cousin and my sister had no respect for me. Nothing I did was good enough for my family. Then the fire happened."

Hinata paused to look at the sky while Anko sat next to the girl in silence, letting Hinata speak.

"I was trapped and then suddenly he was there; like the hero in a romance arriving at the last moment. He got me free and hurt himself so badly doing it. I woke in the hospital and tried to see him but I could only sneak in. It was not easy to look at, sensei. His entire back burnt because he was saving ME. I had to know why he did this. He did not even know me and he almost died for me."

"I have seen him often before that day. Everyone in school was awake of Uzumaki Naruto. But no one ever talked to him. Some adults were harsh when they would speak to him but that was only to warn him away from their children. Most just pretended he did not exist. Even vagrants were acknowledged more often than he was."

"I was outside his hospital room when he woke up. I heard him telling what happened to the Hokage. I learned why people treated him like he is. But I kept silent about his secret. I never let him know I knew it. I tried to find out why he had saved me but he got angry with me. He did not like me calling myself weak. For the first time in my life, someone thought I had value as more than a member of my clan. He valued me as Hinata, as myself."

"In time I could just be myself with him. My father allowed me to be near him and I was happy. I grew out of the shell I was in and people could see me, all thanks to him. The two people no one would acknowledge suddenly became the two everyone saw. My time with him was a joy, my heart was full and I thought that he felt the same things I did."

"Then, hearing what he said this morning. My heart shattered. I felt betrayed. All I could think about was running from that pain but I could not escape it."

Anko nodded slowly. "That kind of pain you can never get away from Hinata. It stays with you for a long time, never fading. For me, it was my sensei. I would have died if he asked me to do so; I loved him that much. But to him, I was just another toy to be played with and eventually discarded. Things are not like that with Naruto. You heard him say you are his best friend. He does care about you but I guess not in the way you care about him."

"The question now is how you deal with it. Hinata, you are a strong girl. I would not be training you if you weren't worth it. When dealing with others, you will have to be shinobi. You cannot break down like this in front of people in the future if you want them to see you as being strong. You have a duty to the village that you need to fulfill and you cannot simply run away from that duty."

"As far as Naruto is concerned, you will have to deal with him as well. If he only wants to be friends, you must respect that. Who knows? In time, he may see you as more than simply a friend. I mean he is a boy after all. They are pretty clueless in matters of the heart."

Thunder rolled in the distance and Anko looked at the approaching thunderstorm. "Well, I don't know about you, but I do not like sitting out in the rain." She stood and offered a hand to help up Hinata. The younger girl took it and stood. "Ya know, if you were a few years older, Hinata, I would be taking you out on the town to get drunk after all this. We could get wasted and pick on shy guys all night long. My old classmate, Iruka was always fun to tease. I should really look him up one of these days."

Hinata blushed crimson at what Anko was implying regarding her old teacher but no matter what; she could only picture herself and Naruto in the way Anko was talking.

* * *

Naruto had never willingly stood in the same place for more than a few minutes at any time in his life. Yet here he was hours later in the same spot as he tried to figure out what had happened. The clone dispersing had given him the knowledge of WHAT was said and a little bit of why but left him confused anyhow. Hinata's reaction was what had scared and confused him so badly. Hadn't the clone said she was gorgeous and like a princess? That he did not have perverted thoughts about her?

Yes, he had noticed the way she looked in her new training clothes. Seeing her in them had given him stomach butterflies and other different feelings but he would never have perverted thoughts about her. She was a hime; a princess. She was also the only true friend he had ever had.

But that did not explain why she had fled crying. The look in her eyes before she left haunted him. It was a look of having been betrayed. He knew somehow he was the cause but he could not understand why his chest hurt so badly each time that look flashed across his thoughts.

Some distant thunder rolled. Naruto looked up to notice the entire afternoon had passed and he had not strayed more than 3 feet from where he had stood since morning. This was getting him nowhere. Maybe he could talk to the Old Man or Iruka-sensei about this. It certainly was not getting better just standing around.

Slowly, Naruto trudged back to the center of the village. The thunderstorm he had heard had closed in quickly and the rain began falling down on him. 'Just perfect,' he thought. 'Somehow, I don't think this day can get must worse.'

Just then, a small dog skidded in the mud as it ran around the corner. It slammed into Naruto's ankles, which made the distracted boy fall over face first into a fresh puddle of water. Naruto pulled his face from the water and looked up to see a pug. It had a Leaf headband and a blue vest on.

"Sorry about that," the dog said as it ran off toward the Hokage Tower.

Naruto just stared after the vanished dog. 'I do not think I will make any more comments on how things could not get worse again.'

* * *

Naruto was standing under a hot shower about a half hour later when someone began banging on his door. Muttering under his breath, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. The banging continued as he approached the door. "What!" he shouted to the person banging. Anko's voice came through the door. "Naruto, we have a mission. Be at the Hokage's office in 15 minutes. Be ready for a mission out of the village that may last for several weeks"

Naruto then heard Anko run off as he turned to gather his equipment. As he was packing extra clothes, he looked down at the orange jumpsuits he normally wore around town and in training. The he reached deeper into his closet and pulled out a spare set of his 'mission clothes' that his pranks had been done in. 'It's not time to retire the orange yet but I get the feeling I might just need the serious outfit this time.' He put the all black suit and mask in the bottom of his bag before putting extra weapons on top of it. Storage scrolls with camping gear and rations stored inside came next. Ten minutes after Anko had been at his door, he was leaving his apartment and headed for the Hokage's office.

Minutes later he was in the waiting area along with Sakura and Tsunade. Both females were glaring at him but kept silent. A minute later, Anko came in followed by Hinata. Naruto began to say hi to her but stopped when she went over to the other women and ignored him. Suddenly, Naruto felt quite alone until the group was called into the inner office.

Naruto followed all 4 females into the office and found that the instructors had taken both chairs. The dog that had run him down earlier being attended to by an Inuzuka jonin was occupying the couch. He went to stand next to Hinata but she then moved to the other side of Sakura, leaving him even more puzzled. Before he could do anything else, Sarutobi spoke up.

"Good, you are all here promptly. Tsunade, Anko, where is Jiraiya?"

Tsunade looked at Anko who answered, "He had an accident after showing up at training today. Um, snake bites. He should be fine tomorrow."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes a bit at Anko but knew the old perverts reputation too well to argue the point right now. "Fine. Anko you will have to lead this mission in his place. Circumstances have dictated that we send your team out on a rank B rescue mission to the Wave. Team 7 had a rank C escort mission there several days ago but it has run into a few problems." Sarutobi pointed to the exhausted pug on the couch. " Pakkun here brought word from Kakashi. The team had arrived in the Wave with no trouble but was attacked by 4 ninja shortly after arrival. It seems someone who was after the bridge builder who hired us hired a squad led by Momochi Zabuza; the Demon of the Mist. Team 7 won the initial battle and drove off their foes with minor injuries to the genin. However, Kakashi himself suffered a severe case of chakra exhaustion and a broken arm while heavily wounding Zabuza. He overextended himself summoning Pakkun to bring word to us."

"All teams with greater experience are currently on assignment so were are forced to send this one. I know you have conducted many drills against chunin level squads so you should be able to handle this mission. Anko, you and the genin will leave at once. Tsunade, you will remain behind for now to get Jiraiya ready as soon as possible to follow after them."

"Get to Wave as quickly as possible to relieve Team 7 and aid them in stopping Momochi Zabuza and his team. Use whatever force is needed to carry out your mission. These are missing ninja you are dealing with. Dismissed."

Anko led the team outside and looked them over. "Things have not gone well today and I do not care about whatever personal feelings any of you might be feeling right now. Can all of you put whatever is wrong aside and do this mission?" Anko's stare dug into each of them in turn.

Naruto nodded, not trusting his voice right now. Sakura nodded as well. Hinata paused for a moment before nodding. "Fine," replied Anko. "We leave at once. It is already late afternoon so we run until it is too dark to see and we make camp. We start moving again at dawn. Any questions?"

The genin all shook their heads no and Anko turned and dashed down the road with the genin following.

* * *

Next Chapter: To The Rescue

* * *

**End Notes:** This one was a difficult chapter to write. Trying to write it out from each perspective without falling into omniscient god mode and ruining everything made me scrap entire sections when I would go back to proofread. It took many drafts but I hope the final product was worth the extra time I was writing.

One point before people comment on things. Naruto said one thing. Hinata heard those words and interpreted something else entirely. That is a common problem between males and females of all ages.

One reviewer said he does not like the fact I use English for my jutsu and attacks. I speak American English so that is what I use. I will be having a lot of new things happening in the future and several unique (I hope) things happening as far as attacks. I have no facility in Japanese past the few words I do use and I am not going to attempt to translate new attacks into Japanese. I feel it would be disrespectful to the language to try. So I use English translation all throughout.

Dragon Man, do not be disappointed about your suggestion with using a genjutsu on Naruto. It was a good one but I already had something along those lines in my plot long before I posted the story. Not exactly but facing his fears as well as his current feelings all at once should be interesting. Years ago in school, one instructor in a creative writing class said always know where you story is going before you start writing. I have all my major plot points mapped out through the Chunin exams with a general outline after that. The hard part comes in making sure my writing all the things out is done in an interesting to read fashion.


	12. To The Resuce

I don't own Naruto. The owner of him is too busy telling about the emo brothers to focus on the true star.

Even after posting this chapter my story now has more pages views than it has words. I am both awed and humbled by this fact. I thank everyone for their support and interest.

**

* * *

Chapter 12: To The Rescue**

Naruto ran down the road toward the Wave Country along with his team; Hinata and Sakura under the command of Anko. It was well into the second day of their journey to the Wave to rescue Team 7. Anko had kept them running well into the night when they left due to being in familiar surroundings closer to Konoha. A short night of sleep in a cold silent camp had not done him much good. His one attempt at talking to Hinata had been intercepted by Anko.

"_Just leave things alone right now, Naruto. Deal with personal business on your own time. Not during a mission."_

The glares from Sakura he could easily shrug off. He had dealt with glares his entire life. The look on Hinata affected him a lot more. She had on what he referred to as a 'Hyuuga Face'. It was the cold emotionless mask that all Hyuuga seemed to wear at all times. In all the time he had known Hinata; she had never worn one. He pushed the pain in his chest deeper down. He wished he could understand all of this. None of the girls would talk to him. He missed his friend.

Anko called a 5-minute break when Sakura signaled she needed one. Naruto pulled a canteen from his pack and drank slowly. If anything, this trip so far was easier than training had been. He remembered that Anko and Jiraiya trained them into the ground whenever possible. Their idea, that training should be more difficult than a real situation, seemed to make sense to him now. Sakura signaled that she was ready to continue and they team was off running again.

Lunch was a light affair. Dry energy bars and cold tea while walking along the road was all the time Anko would give them. "It is better to keep walking while we eat today. We are going to be moving all day but we are not moving at full speed. By going a little slower than that we can move for a longer time before wearing down. In spite of all the physical progress you three have made, your long distance traveling experience is practically zero. From here on out, we will be spending a few minutes every hour walking along. We can use a bit of chakra to get some of the lactic acid built up in our muscles get flushed out and our blood oxygen level back to normal. We will be able to fight if needed without being too worn down and spend minimum amounts of chakra as we are working within our physical limits. We can save our chakra for emergencies instead of using it to make ourselves move faster. At our current rate of travel, we should reach the landward side of the unfinished bridge soon after dark and make camp. We can cross the water in the morning. If the briefing materials from Team 7's mission were accurate, the unfinished span is about 200 yards out. We can run over that on the water easily enough then climb up onto the bridge and run to the island on the completed part."

After Anko finished the short brief, she had them off running again.

* * *

Back in Konoha, Jiraiya could finally move again slightly. That did not save him from Tsunade's wrath while he had been paralyzed. The healer had used a healing jutsu to free up his vocal chords from the venom as long as she kept it active. Under threat of a lot more pain, he finally broke down under her questioning and told his former teammate everything that had happened.

"Ugh, I need a drink," Tsunade complained. "You mean all this trouble with Hinata is because she misunderstood something Naruto said? Sakura told me he said he did not like her."

"Did Sakura tell you he also said she was gorgeous and like a princess? The boy is in love with the girl and he does not even know it. His problem is he has had no one to explain things to him. He understands about being a pervert and about the act of sex, but he knows nothing of love or romance. All the things he would learn from having a family, Tsunade." Jiraiya paused before continuing and sounding angry at himself. "I'm his godfather and I should have been there for him, but my duty to Sensei and the village kept me away too much to even do that properly."

"Plus you are the biggest pervert in the Elemental Countries, you idiot," Tsunade snapped. "All that money writing books and you could have paid a handful of people to watch over him."

Tsunade sighed, "Both of us could have done a lot more for the gaki, but we both got lost in other things. I keep forgetting that all these years he had no one and missed out on so much we take for granted because we got taught things from family without even knowing we were learning them."

Tsunade continued a bit more gently now, "Jiraiya, I know you have been trying to keep your perverted nature away from the kids. We all knew they would find out eventually. This was bound to happen anyhow but rebuilding trust is something that might take some time. I just hope the girls don't keep the boy frozen out for more than a few days. Once they finally start to talk to him again, they can figure out where the misunderstanding came from."

Tsunade dropped her jutsu and scanned over Jiraiya once more. "The toxin is breaking down at least. A few more hours and you will be ready to get going after them."

Jiraiya managed a slight nod and just relaxed to let his body continue to flush the snake venom out of his system.

* * *

Anko called the team to a halt when the dying light was leaving things too dark to see. "We should be within a half hour of the bridge. We'll make camp here and get moving at dawn again. Naruto, come with me to scout for a stream." Anko pointed at the nearby woods and led the boy off.

Sakura looked as the pair moved off then she turned to Hinata. "How are you holding up Hinata?"

"I'm fine, Sakura. Don't worry yourself."

Sakura was looking directly at Hinata as the pearl-eyed girl was speaking. 'Liar,' Sakura thought.

Hinata busied herself with getting some rations out of a scroll and setting up the girls' tent. Her thoughts were all over but she kept up her somber mask. 'Just remember to be Rabbit on the mission. I can get through this.' She would repeat that to herself every few minutes or else her thoughts would turn back to Naruto.

Anko stopped at a stream a few hundred yards from the campsite and turned back to Naruto. "How you holding up back there, squirt?"

Naruto looked up at Anko and just replied quietly, "Fine. Not like anyone cares. You're mad at me for no reason anyhow; just like Hinata and Sakura. I didn't do anything."

Anko was a bit stunned at that comment. "You idiot! You yelled to Jiraiya and the whole world that you didn't like Hinata and now you are trying to claim you did nothing! You broke her heart, Naruto. Right now, you are so lucky that I can't hurt you or you would be in the hospital next to Jiraiya!!" Anko stormed off back to the camp.

Naruto just watched Anko leave with his mouth hanging open. In a small voice that Anko did not hear he said, "But I never said that."

A few minutes later, Anko's angry voice carried back to him. "Move it, gaki! Back to camp!"

* * *

The team kept a watch that night. All through his, Naruto could have been ambushed, as he was very distracted. Luckily nothing happened and in the morning the team headed off to the bridge site. Only a few half built foundations and stakes in the ground marked the landward side of the great bridge being built.

Anko looked over the team. "From here on out, we go on as if we expect to be attacked. We run at full speed over the water, and then run up the pilings onto the bridge, then to the island. Kakashi should have his team looking out for help or on security so we might run into someone who can help us find him."

Anko led off down to the water and sprinted the few hundred yards to the unfinished bridge. The team followed in silence. The need for focus kept all their personal problems buried deep in the background.

They scaled the empty bridge and scanned for a potential ambush. Anko noted that the genin all did their duties as trained. She hoped that this was a good sign that the team might not break apart due to personal problems. A dash along the completed stretch led them to a small village at the island side. Anko gestured to Hinata who activated her Byakugan and held still as she scanned the immediate surroundings for friend and foe.

"There are villagers in their homes but many are still asleep. No guards around the village and no sign of Team 7. Increasing range," Hinata report in a crisp tone.

After a few minutes Hinata announced, "I have spotted Kiba. He is about 4 miles away east by southeast, walking with Akamaru. He has a bandage on his head but seems alert."

Anko nodded at the information. "We move in standard formation. Stop about a half-mile from his position. We go for a downwind position so angle more east by northeast. Hinata lead off and signal when we reach that distance."

The team sped off after the Hyuuga heir, the village remaining asleep and ignorant in their passing.

* * *

Kiba was walking slowly along the path towards town. He was glad to be out of that house. Kakashi and Sasuke were both a severe pain in the butt; Kakashi less so since he was injured and in charge again after waking up. Summoning that dog of his had knocked him out for a day and a half. Sasuke naturally tried to assume command of the squad but neither Shino nor Kiba gave him much respect. Akamaru bristled for a moment before he felt something off as well. Kiba pulled out a kunai and moved off the road looking around. A voice called out to the Inuzuka, "Well you get points for sensing us, but we could have had you first, Kiba."

"Naruto? Is that you?" Kiba called out.

"Yup, dog breath," replied Naruto as he stepped out into the open with the rest of the team following.

Anko smirked at Kiba. "Take us to your leader."

* * *

Kakashi sat with Anko at the kitchen table of Tazuna, the bridge builder. Sakura was working on Kaakshi's broken arm and the rest of the genin were scattered around the room. Tazuna sat at the table and the last chair was empty. "The best I can do right now is stimulate healing, Kakashi-san. You are lucky you had someone make sure it is properly set. I am not fully trained on using chakra to heal bones as yet. It should be back to full use in about two weeks," Sakura told Kakashi.

"Good, good, that is better than waiting another month." Kakashi seemed to smile at the pink haired medic and she moved off to the side.

Anko looked over at Kakashi now that he was in slightly better shape. "So, what the heck happened on the mission that you need a rescue?"

"We were making good time on our way here. We managed to get to the coast with no trouble from the bandits we were expecting."

**Begin Flashback:**

"Kiba, keep Akamaru quiet. I understand he does not like water but he could give away out position." Kakashi ordered.

Kiba hugged Akamaru close and closed his jacket over the dog to muffle the sound of his whines slightly. Kiba made sure his puppy had plenty of air from the bottom of his coat so the dog would not asphyxiate. "Just a little further boy, and we will be back on land." Akamaru whined once more and tried to keep silent.

Sasuke glared at the boy and dog but said nothing. He did not like being in this boat much either but it was the only way they could reach the island. Shino merely sat and had bugs flitting off into the surrounding fog and returning at regular intervals.

"Nothing close by, Kakashi-sensei," Shino reported

The boat soon grounded and the passengers hurried along the coast road towards Tazuna's house. The fog was getting thicker as they moved but Tazuna directed them easily as he knew the way even in darkness.

"Kakashi-sensei, my bugs have detected chakra use in the area. The fog is being controlled by jutsu and we are surrounded by 4 ninja," Shino reported

A voice rang out in the mist. "Well well, Sharingan Kakashi. I should feel honored but then again, you'll likely be dead soon; along with my target. Give up the bridge builder and I might even decide to let you leave alive."

A figure appeared out of the mist standing on a tidal pond in front of the group. "Momochi Zabuza," Kakashi said. "The Demon of the Mist."

"Well, now that the introductions are finished let's get down to business. I am going to kill that bridge builder. Either you can move and live, or remain and die. I am being paid the same regardless so I really do not want the extra work."

"We are being paid to keep him alive, so I am afraid you will just be disappointed," Kakashi said in his normal lazy voice.

Kakashi reached back to pull out a kunai and signaled his team into action. Kiba tossed Akamaru a food pill and activated his Four Legs jutsu. Shino lets his kikai bugs fan out across the area, sucking the chakra from the fog and causing it to lighten up considerably. Sasuke pulled out several kunai and stood ready to hurl them in defense of Tazuna.

The initial attack came from the Mist ninja. The pair known as the Demon Brothers leapt towards Sasuke planning on making quick work of the Uchiha and Tazuna. The chain between the chunin's arms clinked as they closed in on their target.

Sasuke simply threw kunai and pinned the chain to the ground long enough for Kiba and Akamaru to attack the pair. Several slashing attacks by the canine team left the Demon Brothers on the defensive. Shino's kikai bugs swarmed over the pair next; intent on draining away the chakra of the Mist ninja. The pair leaped away with a portion of the bugs attached to them, the rest trailing back towards Shino.

"Hmm, your team has a small amount of skill, Kakashi. You have the makings of a heavy assault squad there. The emo there on defense did not look too impressive however."

Sasuke growled in annoyance and glared at Zabuza.

"Wow, I could almost feel that killer intent. Another few years and you might be able to scare a genin with that, boy" Zabuza taunted.

The bulk of Shino's bugs began flying at Zabuza now from all sides. The swordsman leapt away and tried to cast a justu. The bugs swarmed over Zabuza's body for a moment before it shattered into a puddle of water. Behind Sasuke, Zabuza appeared from out of the mist and swung his sword at Tazuna. Kakashi appeared in its path and blocked the zanbato with a kunai. The block cost Kakashi a huge amount of chakra to stop the momentum of the huge sword. Kiba scrambled in behind Zabuza and tried to slice the missing ninja's hamstrings but failed as Zabuza jumped away from the group.

Kakashi kept his gaze in Zabuza as Shino recovered his bugs. "Sensei, the two that attacked have backed off with a significant percentage of their chakra drained. The fourth ninja in the area is hanging back as well, but seems to be merely observing for now." Kakashi nodded at the report and lifted his headband up from his face, revealing his Sharingan eye.

'I need to finish this quickly before that last ninja gets involved. An unknown suddenly joining this battle could tip things against us,' Kakashi thought. "Kiba, you and Akamaru guard the client, Shino trail me left, Sasuke, trail me right." Grunts of acknowledgement followed and Kakashi charged.

Sasuke and Shino followed in Kakashi's wake and hurled kunai toward Zabuza to force him to react. Zabuza just let the knives bounce off his zanbato but was take by surprise when the kunai changed into kikai bugs and swarmed the swordsman's arm and weakening it. Kakashi attacked Zabuza on his off side which made the missing ninja have to jump away again. He was noticeably awkward in his motions as the bugs had disrupted his normal chakra flow by draining his arm temporarily. Zabuza landed in the pond and submerged himself to shake off the kikai. The bugs did not like the high salt content of the water and fled back to Shino.

After a few minutes, Zabuza surfaced and Team 7 prepared for battle again. Zabuza went through hand signs and a dozen water clones formed around him. Four clones went after each genin and Zabuza himself went after Kakashi.

The clones immediately had the genin on the defensive. Shino deployed most of his bugs but many on his person had already fed well on the Demon Brothers and were sluggish. He recalled the remaining bugs that had been scattered around the battle site to aid him as he dodged multiple attacks. Shino's coat became sliced in several places when his speed was lacking. The returning bugs were now able to swarm the clones. Slowly, the water clones assaulting him were dispelled.

Kiba and Akamaru were forced to guard Tazuna as they dodged sword attacks from the water clones. If they used their favored jutsu, the bridge builder would be exposed to attack by one or more clones. This left the pair tied to a fixed point. The lack of mobility limited their offense greatly but slashing claws managed to get under the defenses of the clones. The final clone blocked a frontal attack from Kiba by getting his blade in the way so Kiba rammed it with his head. Before the clone could kill the stunned genin, Akamaru ripped its throat out and it splashed into a puddle on the prone boy.

Sasuke saw the clones coming at him and drew a half dozen kunai. Holding 3 in each fist like claws, he waited for the attack to come. The clones came in at him swinging and Sasuke merely danced around them, the kunai slashing into the clones and quickly dispelling them. 'Those clones could not have been more than a quarter of the strength of the first one,' Sasuke thought. 'All too easy to dispatch.'

Zabuza closed in on Kakashi. Thrusts, swings, parries and dodges followed in quick succession as neither could find an opening or land a clean hit. Both jonin looked ragged after this fight and were breathing heavily. Blood dripped from assorted minor wounds on both men.

Zabuza charged one more time, swinging his zanbato with his remaining strength at Kakashi's torso. Kakashi went to block but Zabuza's strength faltered in mid swing. Instead of the blow falling on the armored gloves Kakashi wore; the flat of the blade slammed into his left forearm snapping the ulna. Kakashi winced in pain but saw Zabuza had over reached in trying to correct his swing. Kakashi's kunai flashed out and cut deep into Zabuza's own forearm; causing the swordsman to drop his sword. Kakashi followed with a kick to Zabuza's gut sending him back from the fallen blade.

Shino and Sasuke moved up to flank Kakashi now which kept Zabuza from recovering his sword. A feint from Shino left Zabuza open to a blow from Sasuke which sent the missing ninja back into the tidal pond down on one knee

The trio was preparing to move in on Zabuza when a wall of ice sprung up between them. Shino said "The other ninja is moving in rapidly to aid Zabuza." They saw a swirl of robes. A figure in an ANBU style mask grabbed Zabuza and leapt away. The wall of ice prevented Team 7 from giving chase.

Kakashi slid his forehead protector back into place over his eye and groaned in pain as he tried to move the ends of his broken bone back into proper position. "Well, I think I will have to teach you all first aid when we get back to Konoha," he muttered.

Kiba approached and asked to see the arm. The Inuzuka shed his pack and pulled a small first aid kit from it and retrieved a split and gauze. He massaged the muscles on Kakashi's forearm to set the bone correctly and expertly tied the split in place. Shino and Sasuke both looked at him in disbelief. Kiba grinned and said, "My sis is a vet and she made sure I learned a few things in case Akamaru got hurt in the field. It's all basic stuff and works on both dogs and people."

Kakashi nodded to Kiba and then glared at Tazuna. "It seems some people are very interested in you not finishing your bridge. Who is it and why?"

Tazuna was scared from the battle and now of Kakashi's gaze. "The man after me is Gato, the shipping tycoon. But he never used ninja before. All he ever did was threaten my workers with thugs. That is the truth." Tazuna looked ready to wet himself in fear so Kakashi relaxed his gaze slightly.

"We are in no condition to head back and we are almost at our destination, so we press on. We rest up and figure out our next move." The genin all nodded and got ready to move out. "Kiba, do you think you can carry that sword along? It might make a good bargaining piece to the Mist Village. I think they would pay handsomely to get one of their legendary swords returned."

The team followed Tazuna toward the man's house a few miles further on. Kakashi was more exhausted than he had let on at first. Between that and Kiba hauling the zanbato, the group was slowed down. The last few miles of the trip took over an hour. Soon, they approached Tazuna's house only to see the front door wide open.

A boy was tied to a chair in the kitchen and a note sat on the table. Tazuna rushed to untie the boy who cried out, "Grandpa, they came and took Mama!! They are going to kill her like they did Kaiza!"

Kakashi picked up the note and read it aloud, "'Return the sword Kubikiri Hocho and the woman will be returned unharmed and unmolested. Bring the sword to the Gato warehouse on the north side of the island within 5 days or the woman dies.' The letter is unsigned."

"This is bad. This mission is far beyond parameters and I am in no shape to fight. Gato will be watching the water for us to try to escape. So we cannot fight and we cannot leave. If Momochi Zabuza regains his weapon he would be more than a match for 3 genin. We will need aid from Konoha. Luckily, we have wounded those ninja enough that they need time to recover as we do. Otherwise I fear the time given would be much shorter. A fast team could be here from Konoha in 2 days. We just need to get a message home. Tazuna, have patience. We are going to help you get your daughter back."

Kakashi took out a scroll and wrote quickly. After finishing his message, he made several hand signs and summoned his dog, Pakkun. "Pakkun, it is important that this message gets to the Hokage as soon as possible." Kakashi tucked it into a pocket of the blue vest the dog wore and Pakkun sprinted out the still open door. Kakashi slumped down into a chair. "Now, we wait."

**End Flashback**

Anko nodded. "We have one more day before the time limit for the exchange. Then maybe a couple of days after that before they would be able to do something if Zabuza is as drained and injured as you, Kakashi. We can spend the time today scouting out enemy positions."

"I would rather we do not have to make the trade but we will to save the hostage," Kakashi stated.

Anko agreed and the two jonin bend their heads together to make a plan.

* * *

Next Chapter: Scouting the Enemy

* * *

End Notes: A few people seemed surprised that Sakura and Anko took Hinata's side so quickly and forcefully. It has been my personal experience that women tend to close ranks against a guy when one of their number is hurt emotionally. The fact that she was the one who made the mistake is irrelevant to the girls until a later time but they still manage to blame the guy anyhow.

I had the Demon Brothers not attack in their canon style due to the apparent strength of Team 7. They pulled back and attacked with Zabuza instead with Haku acting as a background support as normal. The Demon Brothers are still fairly wimpy for chunin anyhow.

Review Notes:  
Metal Dragoon hit it right on the head regarding my handling of Naruto and the relationship. But no pedestal complex is involved. I view it as he does not know how to get from like to love without going through pervert and he does not want to be a 'pervert'. Plus, he is only 13 and many of us guys remember how confusing a time that was when girls went from having cooties to having your attention.

Leaprechaun see the note at the top of chapter 8.


	13. Scouting the Enemy

I do not own Naruto. I would but I could not get the guy to go for a ball of pocket lint.

**Scouting the Enemy**

Anko and Kakashi had a plan together in about 15 minutes. Kiba, Shino and Hinata would go toward the north end of the island and scout out the warehouse the exchange was supposed to take place in. Sakura and Sasuke would patrol around the south end of the island while Naruto went into town for some food and to listen to gossip. Naruto tried to argue in order to get time near Hinata but Anko merely threw a kunai that cut his cheek and said 'No'. Naruto was grumbling as he left the house.

Sasuke was not in a much better mood as he left with Sakura to patrol the south end of the island. The forest there would make a good staging point to head toward the bridge and fallback position if anything went wrong. It would be best to make sure the enemy was not already there. The prospect of a fight at least got the Uchiha out the door.

Hinata, Kiba and Shino left without a word of protest. They all knew that under different circumstances they might have been assigned together as part of a recon team but the Hokage's plan had changed that. Their current assignments all were geared toward a more martial use of their abilities. A brief conversation got them organized and they moved out toward their goal.

Anko sighed and sat down at the table to wait with Kakashi. She rubbed her temples, as her headache would not quit. "You know Kakashi, I think you got lucky having all boys on your squad."

"Oh? Why do you say that, Anko? I had noticed you seemed a bit upset with Naruto. He did not go pulling his Sexy technique on anyone did he?" Kakashi chuckled.

"I wish it was that simple. We ran into Jiraiya doing some peeping and the old goat got a shadow clone of Naruto to go shouting out he did not like Hinata in front of the rest of us. Hinata ran off crying and things just got crazy after that. A few hours later your dog shows up and we are sent on this mission with nothing resolved."

"Hmm, that does not really sound like something Naruto would do, Anko. I have watched the pair of them on many pranks before I got this assignment and they really seemed fond of one another."

"I know. Something is not right about all this. I even got upset at him last night when he said he did not do anything wrong. Once we get this mission out of the way, we can get everything worked out. For right now, I am just trying to keep them apart as much as possible and focused on what needs to get done," Anko said.

"I don't agree with your logic, but they are your students."

* * *

Sakura followed along behind Sasuke as they walked along the forest path. The ground here was high enough that a true forest could grow instead of the smaller stunted trees near the tidal marshes. The ocean sounds in the distance made it have a different feel than the forest near Konoha that Sakura was used to.

"You know, I bet an observation post up in the tallest trees could keep a eye on the whole island," she told Sasuke.

'Hn, what would a fan girl like you know about something like that?" Sasuke grumbled. "I had hoped to get some training in and maybe fight someone. Instead I get stuck on babysitting detail."

"Gee, arrogant much, Sasuke?" Sakura came back at him. The former crush she had on him evaporated even faster. She knew she was a lot better than she had been in the Academy. It made her angry that Sasuke was dismissing her so blatantly. "Only one of us is acting like they need a babysitter and I am not getting paid enough to do that." At that, Sakura leapt up into a tree and ran along a few branches to get away from the boy.

Sasuke was startled at Sakura just disrespecting him like that and even more by her running up the tree and leaving him behind. He could not tree run yet and here this no clan girl was doing something he could not. He growled deeply as he realized this was something else that Kakashi had not taught him due to more useless teamwork exercises slowing him down.

"Sakura," he called out. "Come back down here."

After a few minutes, Sakura returned to the ground and looked at Sasuke.

"Teach me that," he commanded.

Sakura was again offended by his attitude and sense of superiority. "Shouldn't you have your sensei teach you techniques, Sasuke?"

"Apparently, he thinks teamwork exercises are more important. Now, teach me how to do that. I need to get stronger."

"Wow, for someone from such a _great_ clan as yours, you sure are a rude guy, you know that Sasuke? If you were more polite, I might consider it."

Sasuke growled under his breath again. This girl was really pissing him off now. If he had his Sharingan active, he would not even need to ask how to be shown something. He would only need to watch and copy it.

"Teach it to me, … please." Sasuke finally said almost spitting out the final word.

Sakura smiled at her small victory. "Well, since you asked so nicely. Okay."

Sakura spent the next few hours showing Sasuke the basics of tree climbing. For some reason, him having trouble with the technique and needing to ask for more help pleased the pink haired genin.

* * *

Naruto got to the small village and looked around for a place to buy groceries. He noticed the place was as run down and dirty as the neighborhood he lived in. He brought what he could from the poor selection the grocer had in stock. A lot of the canned food was expired so he paid the higher prices for the slightly spoiled vegetables and poor quality rice on hand.

He could not engage anyone in conversation. They all just looked down in a defeated fashion and avoided eye contact with everyone else on the street. It was very frustrating for Naruto. He was not going to get any information this way. He saw a few mercenaries walking down the street in a haughty manner. Naruto realized that dressed as he was, he would be spotted quickly as being an outsider.

Stepping into an alley, he stashed the bag of groceries behind a barrel. He made a henge to disguise himself as a dirty street kid instead of a ninja. For once his short stature was an asset as it allowed him to appear younger than he truly was.

He approached the mercenaries and put on the most pitiful look he could think of.

"Please, mercenary-sama, can I have some money to get a bite to eat? My parents are sick and we have not eaten in days."

One of the mercenaries looked over Naruto. He saw a dirty dark haired dark eyed boy of about 10 years old. "I don't recognize you kid. Are you from around here?"

Naruto knew that one mercenary seemed a bit smarter so he went with his best guess. "No, mercenary-sama, my parents and me were thrown off the last ship through here because they were sick. The captain worked for Gato-sama and did not think he should carry sick passengers without an extra payment from them. My parents had spent all their money on passage and had nothing else. We are stranded until they get better." Naruto managed to produce a few tears to go with his sob story.

The mercenary laughed. "It serves them right for getting sick. You amuse me kid so here ya go." The man pulled out a small coin and dropped it into the muck at his feet. Playing along, Naruto went to his knees in the slime and bowed down to get the coin.

"Thank you mercenary-sama. My parents thank you as well."

One of the other mercenaries noticed, "Quit playing with the kid. We need to get back to our patrol. The boss said some ninja got into a fight with the ones the boss hired to take out that bridge builder. They might be hiding somewhere in town. I don't see why we just don't go over to the bridge guy's house and kill him ourselves."

"You idiot. The more bodies show up, the more the daimyo would be snooping around to find out who killed them. We can strong arm the locals but we can't kill them. If we kill people, it leaves a trail back to Gato-sama. Hired ninja that can just disappear after the deed is done leave him a deniable out. No one can prove he did anything wrong that way."

Naruto listened in silence. He just stayed still while kneeling in the muck at the mercenaries' feet. 'That explains why these people did not just kill the kid and the old guy. Gato might have power but he still needs permission to operate in a feudal lord's domain.'

The mercenaries took off on their walk through town. Once they were out of sight Naruto got up and dropped the henge. He went back for the groceries and ran toward Tazuna's house.

* * *

Hinata, Shino and Kiba with Akamaru headed north through the scrub trees that covered good portion of the north half of the island. Shino had a small number of bugs out and constantly returning to him for recon purposes. This part of the island had few inhabitants and it made it easier to avoid contact with anyone. The few patrols they encountered were easily bypassed. Kiba and Akamaru kept their ears open and Hinata ran along with her Byakugan active. Once they got with a line of sight to the warehouse, they found a place to lay low and observe.

Kiba could not do much from this distance so he just kept watch around them while Hinata and Shino gathered information. He sent Akamaru off to various locations to scout out animal paths in the area.

Hinata was telling Shino areas to check on with his bugs. They were an hour into observations when Kiba got really bored. He noticed Hinata keep wiggling on the sandy ground. After that, he spent as much time checking out Hinata as he did watching the local area for enemies.

"Hinata, I noticed things are a little cold between you and Naruto, you guys not hanging together anymore?"

"Kiba, now is not a good time to discuss such things," Shino pointed out.

"I was just trying to pass the time, Shino. There is no one within a mile of us."

"I am not currently speaking to Naruto-san, Kiba. We had a disagreement and Anko-sensei does not want us dealing with things until after the current mission is over."

Kiba took this to mean that Hinata had broken up with Naruto; in spite of the fact the pair were never officially together as a couple. 'Sweet, I can make a move,' he thought.

Kiba moved up next to Hinata to look out at the warehouse in the distance. He placed his hand on Hinata's butt and left it there as he tried to see anything.

"Kiba," Hinata said softly.

"Yes," he replied in the same tone.

"If your hand is not removed immediately, you will lose it. Also, if you try anything like that again, you will learn what it feels like to be neutered." She looked directly into Kiba's eyes. "Do you understand?"

Kiba saw the cold and scary look on the normally gentle girl's face. He gulped and back away from Hinata. "Yes, Ma'am."

Hinata almost laughed at the look on Kiba's face and was glad her sensei had taught her how to look mean when necessary.

Shino shook his head and listened to his bugs returning with information. "Idiot."

* * *

Naruto told Anko and Kakashi about his encounter with the mercenaries. Kakashi nodded at the fact that the mercenaries were hesitant to kill Tazuna directly. Gato needing to keep up a semi-respectable front was important for his business to grow to new markets The fact that the villagers were so beaten down and demoralized would make things harder to the combined teams. If things went bad the next day there would be no falling back to a friendly position.

Shino and Kiba arrived about mid afternoon. They had good intelligence on the warehouse and surrounding area. Kiba marked off the best approaches on dry land and Shino told them of a shallow path through the marshy ground that the mercenaries did not patrol.

"We should be able to get much closer to the exchange point by following this route. My bugs report that the route is exposed at low tide but remains more solid than the land around it."

Naruto chimed in, "Where is Hinata?"

"She stopped about a mile back to gather some wild medicinal herbs she saw. She expressed a desire to avoid confrontations and would remain outside until dinnertime. I have a relay of my kikai watching over her and sending me information on her position as well as marking her with a female to track her if she moves away from that grove. She relayed all needed information to me."

Naruto huffed, as he wanted to talk to Hinata and stalked outside to go sit on the dock. Anko followed after him while Shino and Kiba continued their report.

Naruto plopped down on the dock and just started out at the water. Anko walked up and leaned on a piling and looked at him.

"You seem pretty frustrated, Naruto. Kakashi and me were talking while you guys were all out. I talked to him a bit about what has been going on."

"Oh great, why not just broadcast it to the world. The whole team thinks Naruto is a grand pervert."

Anko frowned. "That was something that was never brought up. Actually, he told ME that I was being a bit harsh and not listening to your side of things. After I thought about things for a few minutes, I realized I hadn't been listening. It was when he asked me what it was you actually said that I realized I had simply jumped onto Hinata's side of things. Remember, Sakura was closest to the Jiraiya and the clone, then you and Hinata and I was furthest away. We all moved closer after the initial shout and I saw Jiraiya with his perverted grin on his face talking to the clone; then the clone shouting back at him getting louder with each word. All I really caught was 'I don't like her like that'. You grinned like an idiot, Hinata started crying and ran off and Sakura took off after her. I was mad at Jiraiya for being there and began pounding on him. We just left you there at the river and never got what was going on."

Naruto just kept staring out at the water for a few minutes before responding. Anko could barely hear his voice. "Does it really matter anymore? You all turned against me. I keep trying to explain things and you tell me to shut up. I told you last night I didn't say anything wrong and you yelled at me for it. I just don't understand all this. I don't understand why Hinata was crying. I don't understand why you're mad over it. I can't think straight and I have this empty feeling in my chest that won't go away." Naruto just lowered his head fighting back tears.

Anko sighed. She had been so caught up in Hinata being hurt that she had not considered that Naruto was hurting just as badly. The boy had so much energy and seemed so carefree that she forgot how little social experience he had for most of his life. There were so many things he was ignorant about. It was so hard dealing with people as wounded emotionally as she had been. She could not be the cast iron bitch all the time around these kids. They dragged her defenses down too easily. She sat down next to Naruto and just held him.

"What happened down there by the river Naruto?"

"The clone found Jiraiya-sensei peeping at women. He yelled at Sensei for doing it. I mean the guy was supposed to be out of Konoha, right? Well, Sensei started talking about me looking at Hinata and how I must be such a pervert and thinking about doing perverted stuff with her. The clone started yelling at him that Hinata was a princess and my best friend and that I don't like her like that. Then everything bad happened."

Anko lowered her head. "Ugh, this is a mess. The ONLY part of that the girls and I heard was the very end. Hinata ran off thinking you did not like her the same way she likes you."

"Naruto, we all owe you a huge apology. You said something that we all took out of context."

"What does context mean?"

Anko chuckled, "It means you said one thing and we heard something else. You relax some, kiddo. I'll talk to Hinata and explain everything that went on. I promise we will get everything fixed up after tomorrow, okay?"

Naruto just nodded and sat there as Anko got up and walked back toward the house. 'He thinks she is a princess? Oh boy. Kakashi was wrong on that count. He doesn't just like her, he got it BAD.'

* * *

Hinata wandered around the meadow picking out medicinal herbs. She liked the way Tsunade and Anko had expanded her own knowledge of herbology. She had made her own ointments for years before the fire. They were one thing she had always been good at before … before Naruto. Tsunade had even been impressed by one first aid cream she had devised. Of course, Anko had taught a whole different array of uses for herbs that she had never considered. Change one ingredient and a medicine would become a deadly poison. Some of the poisons Hinata had learned were useful for a few of her new jutsu. She of course avoided the deadly ones. She could deal with making people sick for a few days but not killing them in minutes. She COULD kill but she chose not to do it. She chuckled a little at Sakura wanting to refuse to learn poisons but Tsunade had insisted. Knowing how to kill someone was a step in healing them. If you knew a poison, you could find its antidote. It was actually kind of funny that healers knew more ways to kill a person than most ninja.

"Oh, I did not expect anyone to be here," a voice said.

Hinata turned startled. She had been so involved in her thoughts she never noticed someone's approach.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." A slight and fairly androgynous young man in a girl's kimono was standing about 10 yards away and holding a basket with several varieties of herbs in it.

"Is this your meadow?" Hinata asked.

"No, I just was out and about trying to find some things to make something for a friend. He was set upon by some ruffians and has quite a bit of bruising. I do not normally come to this part of the island," the boy said.

"It is a lovely place," Hinata said with a small smile. "The ocean nearby is nice to look at."

The boy nodded. "It makes one feel small, doesn't it? I'm Haku."

"Hinata"

"A lovely name," Haku said as he reached down to pick a few herbs. "You are a ninja? I noticed you have a headband of one around your neck."

"Yes, I am."

"You must be very strong to be all the way out here alone."

"My friends are close by, plus, I am not exactly alone." Hinata pointed to a few bugs circling her head. "They are keeping track of me."

"Interesting. You seemed sad when I came up. Is something bothering you?"

"Um, well, it's just a problem with a person I know."

"Is this person precious to you?"

"Well, sort of, but I am not sure if I am to him. He said some things … that hurt."

"Ah, well, boy troubles are the worst kind for a young lady. But they always pass, in time. I should really get going. My friend will need his medicine soon. Be careful, the ruffians might still be on the island."

Hinata waved as Haku walked off. She sighed and decided she had enough surprises for one day and headed back to Tazuna's house.

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura came in about an hour before sunset. Sasuke was dirty and worn but seemed to be full of himself, as always. He had mastered climbing a tree to the top. He had begun hopping between branches but was not up to Sakura's level yet. He knew that all he needed was some more practice and he would soon be superior to the girl once more.

Sakura seemed frustrated and just glared at everyone. She had never realized just how bad the Uchiha truly was. Once he had the basic idea down, the boy had blown her off and would not accept any criticism of his technique. He learned tree climbing quicker than Naruto had but his arrogance was obvious. How did she ever like this boy?

The group was silent during dinner. Anko and Kakashi gave out assignments for the morning and went over the basic plan. They sent the teams to bed early since they would be rising before dawn to get into position. Anko went with Hinata and Sakura to sleep in Inari's room while the boy got shuffled in with Tazuna.

Anko looked over at the girls. "Tomorrow we need to have our heads on straight so I will just let you both know a few things now. The whole bit with Naruto a couple of days ago. Let it go. I talked with him this afternoon and there were a few things that were said that we did not hear. What we did hear was completely out of context. We will sit down with Naruto after all this and talk it out. Hinata, just remember that he considers you his best friend and he does care about you a lot. Sakura, there will be no need for pounding Naruto into pulp after the mission because of the past couple of days. Now, lets get some sleep. It has been a very long and exhausting day and I think tomorrow is going to be worse.

* * *

"Zabuza-sama, the enemy has received reinforcements; at least another squad. I fear they will try to set a trap at the exchange."

"Don't worry, Haku. They are not the only ones to have a surprise waiting tomorrow."

Next Chapter: Swords and Hostages

* * *

End Notes: A lot of people made comments on the 'little problem' I created for the team seemed to be dragging out. I'll address a few concerns that were brought up. I know the story has been posted over a couple of weeks real time, but the time frame for this whole problem is actually quite narrow. I pictured the incident happening around noon. Pakkun arrives in Konoha around 4PM the same day. An hour later, the team is out on the road to Wave. They are on the move almost constantly and arrive at Tazuna's place shortly after breakfast, about 40 hours or so after Pakkun got to Konoha. That is the point this chapter begins at. There was no time in there for any resolution of the problem.

Narutomaniac brought up a solid point regarding how easily I had Sasuke defeat the quad of water clones against him, but I felt I had covered that in Sasuke noticing how much weaker the clones were compared to the first one team 7 faced. The weaker ones were no match for a still fresh Sasuke. I personally think Sasuke is an a$$ but in terms of raw power, he is already into chunin level. It is his 'I don't work and play well with others' attitude that is holding him back. For Sasuke lovers, he is only going to get worse as more things do not go his way. So Sorry. His mindset will not allow him to see, his attitude is the very reason he is being held back in Konoha. In a different village, he would be a chunin already.


	14. Battle in the Wave

Well, it took a couple of weeks but you are treated to a double sized (compared to normal for me) chapter. Tax season for my boss means more time spent working. Life always comes before writing since work pays the bills and this doesn't.

Chapter 14: Battle in the Wave

It was not even dawn yet and Tazuna's house was a hive of activity. Tazuna and his grandson Inari were amazed at the way most of the ninja in the place were moving around. The only one missing right now was the loud one. Tazuna knew something else was going on underneath what these people had been saying. The girls, who had arrived with the loud one Naruto, all had seemed upset at the boy for some reason. It was not so evident this morning as the girls had gotten ready in the borrowed bedroom and came out as a group.

The original team all stopped what they were doing and looked at the girls. The one with the bugs went right back to what he had been doing after a single glance. The moody one just grunted and went back to his actions as well. The smelly dog boy just gaped like a fish as the girls went and grabbed some breakfast the 2 older ones had made. He started to step toward the girls when the bug kid grabbed his arm and said something to him in a low voice. The dog boy got a look of horror on his face and just backed away from the girls in silence. The white-eyed girl merely smirked a bit but if he had not been looking at her just then, Tazuna would have missed it.

The shy one with the white eyes was dressed differently this morning. The bulky jacket she had worn yesterday was gone and replaced with a tighter black long sleeve shirt. The only odd thing Tazuna could notice was the fabric hung loosely from the elbow to the wrist. Black fingerless gloves covered the girl's delicate hands and weapons pouches were strapped to both thighs and hips. The look of worry she had the day before was gone and replaced with what he could only call a calm focus.

It appeared that the pink haired one had swapped out her red overdress for a darker maroon one. It took Tazuna a minute to realize it was simply the old one turned inside out. A single large pack hung behind her waist. She looked focused as well.

He was thinking about the exchange later on when all motion in the kitchen stopped again. All the ninja were looking past him at the bedroom the men had slept in. Tazuna turned and looked at Naruto. The boy seemed completely different from the day before. Like his teammates, he was dressed differently and had a look of focus on his face. His blue eyes had gained a small bit of life to them that had been lacking the day before and a good portion of the anger that had been surrounding him was gone as well. Instead of the eye searing orange jumpsuit, the boy wore a dark gray outfit that would blend in well with shadows. His bright blonde hair was covered by a hood of the same color and held in place by his Leaf headband. The pants and shirt were close fitting but not tight enough to restrict movement. Fingerless gloves covered his hands and the metal plate on the back was coated to appear dark and non reflective. Metal studs of a similar color showed on the knuckles. The boy also had on dual weapon holsters on his thighs and hips. The pouches, holsters and armor wrap on his thigh to stabilize the holster were the same color as his outfit. Finally, Tazuna noticed that the boy had dark color socks on under his sandals.

The overall effect of the new look for the loud boy was simple. It screamed competence just as loudly as his orange outfit seemed to draw attention to him. Having seen both, Tazuna was highly intimidated by this dark reflection of the loud boy. The boy of course ruined the entire moment when after about 10 seconds of silence he looked down and checked to make sure he was not exposed. He looked up grinning after confirming that he wasn't. The spell was broken after that and the rest of the ninja resumed their morning activities.

* * *

Anko smirked after she saw Naruto come out of the bedroom. The kids were bouncing back faster than she had hoped. All three had gotten over the largest emotional baggage from the past few days. They still needed to talk things out but for now it was not going to hinder them. She had caught something passing between Hinata and Kiba but would wait to find out why he looked spooked and she smirked about it. The smirk alone told Anko volumes about her apprentice's state of mind. Once the boy was seated at the table and eating, Anko looked over at Kakashi.

"Look at this Kakashi. It seems we are in rare company today. The Fox and Rabbit are being seen in the broad daylight." She leaned over to Kakashi and chuckled. "But I think we need to do something about Pinky there. She just seems to be lacking something in the intimidation department. Who knows? Maybe she will end up taking after her teacher and becoming a junior version of Tsunade. The old lady did not really 'bust' out of her shell until she was 17 or so."

All three members of Anko's team blushed at the jokes the special jonin was making. The lighthearted teasing got a chuckle from the silver haired jonin, "Well, I have seen Fox and Rabbit at work in the past. Are you responsible for the modifications, Anko?"

"Not entirely. It was a group effort. Jiraiya, Tsunade and me all contributed something. Hinata and Naruto had the basic look down from their prank missions. We just tacked on weapons and armor to the original stealth concept the kids made. You can't see it as a routine thing but their normal clothes match in weight to their special outfits there. The weight of the armor is just as normal to them as everything else. We minimized what we could since Naruto is a whiz at dodging already. The armor he does have is more on his arms than anywhere else. Jiraiya made them both special sealing scrolls to carry it around without having to lug all the weight. Hinata's armor actually weighs less that coat of hers normally does."

Kakashi nodded at that. The concept of speed versus armor was one most ninja argued over at some point. The idea of 'speed is armor' was currently in vogue. The use of armor in the form of bandage-like wraps was the most popular concept. It would prevent scrapes and minor cuts but would do little to stop a well-thrown shuriken or a stab from a kunai. Some clans like the Akimichi held out against that idea. They were built around the concept of being able to take a few hits and still keep coming at you. No one wanted to take a hit from an Akimichi.

The members of Team 7 each had a different reaction to 'Team Apprentice'. Kiba was still bothered by Hinata's threat from the day before. Shino was just re-evaluating his opinion of Naruto and Hinata both based on their new appearance. Before, he had placed them as competent but with the sudden shift in both attitude and attire this morning meant he needed to see deeper into them to truly judge their worth as ninja. What the pair kept hidden was likely the reason they had been chosen to be apprentices in the first place.

Sasuke was just eating with his normal scowl on his face. Inside he was seething. For a brief moment there, the LOSER had intimidated him. The Loser kept advancing and getting stronger while he was saddled with bugs and dogs. 'The Loser does not deserve all this special attention. I do. I am the one who needs to avenge my clan. I am the one who needs to be stronger than everyone else. I am an Uchiha, the most elite ninja clan in history. These peons should be grateful I am with them but instead they fawn over that blonde…' Sasuke just dropped his fork, got up and left the building, waves of anger flowing off of him.

Anko watched Sasuke all but run out of the kitchen. She leaned over to Kakashi, "What is up with moody?"

"Ego problems mainly. He thinks he is better than everyone simply because he is an Uchiha. After his clan was killed, people treated him like something special because he was the last one in the village. Now that other people are maturing and getting strong, he thinks he is being slighted in his training. The problem is not in the training he is being offered; it is in his attitude towards it. All he wants is enough power to kill his brother and nothing else. The fact that he cannot compare to what his brother could do at the same age is eating away at him. Itachi was the greatest Uchiha since Madara, back when Konoha was founded. Sasuke was spoiled into thinking he is better than he truly is and now everyone is feeling the result of that."

"He is too much like … Sensei." Anko could barely speak her own former teacher's name in the best of times. She only referred to him as Sensei when she wanted to make a point.

Kakashi just nodded in agreement and finished his breakfast.

* * *

Jiraiya woke and stretched. A few more hours and he would be in the Wave. He hated camping out.

* * *

Anko and her team set out first. They took a roundabout course through the tidal swamp to get as close to the exchange point as possible. They would be slightly behind their enemies and off to one side. The day turned out to be a bright sunny one and the marsh was not a pleasant place to be. The team found some good shade under some cypress trees and began to wait. They waited in silence but it was a peaceful one. The harsh feelings that were plaguing them during their journey were gone. They were unsettled but that was more from unanswered questions and nervousness than anything else.

Roughly an hour later, Team 7 arrived with Tazuna at the exchange point with the sword. They could see a large group of people at the warehouse about a quarter mile away. Four people walked toward the team. Kakashi could see it was Zabuza and the Demon Brothers escorting a pretty young woman. The masked member of their group was nowhere to be seen.

"That is your daughter, Tsunami, correct?" Kakashi asked the bridge builder.

"Yes, that is her."

Shino spoke up. "Sensei, my bugs are beginning to act strangely. They sense something is amiss but cannot tell me what."

"Akamaru is nervous as well, Sensei," Kiba added. "I can feel it too, but not as clearly. It's sort of like the feeling you get when someone drags something across a chalkboard, except it is constant. It is mainly coming from the warehouse up ahead."

Kakashi nodded and waited for the group to finish walking up to them.

Zabuza noted that the girl Haku reported on was not in sight. 'Since the bridge builder was with the same ninja as before that ruled out the idea the new ninja were off guarding the man. That means an ambush is planned. Well, it seems both sides are cheating on this today. It will not matter what they plan as long as I get my sword back first. The plan is flawless.'

Zabuza stopped about 10 yards from Kakashi. "Well, well. It seems you decided to come in the nick of time. My boys here wanted you to be late. The woman has a sharp tongue and they wanted to cut it out of her mouth. However, we kept our word that she would remain unharmed until after the exchange."

"Good, good. We have you sword as you can see." 'My student did however drain off all the chakra stored in it. His bugs enjoyed the snack.'

Zabuza frowned under his mask. He had extended his chakra to ensure it was his sword. The sword did not respond normally. He immediately felt it was drained. The chakra he imbued in his sword made it easier to wield. It would cost him several minutes and about a quarter of his current reserves to recharge it. He was still not completely over the first battle and he knew Kakashi was likely not better off.

Kakashi and Zabuza walked forward with their captives and stopped close enough to touch. Zabuza put his hand on the sword and focused a moment to ensure again it was not a fake. Satisfied, he released the chakra-powered bonds on Tsunami. Kakashi escorted the woman back to his waiting team as Zabuza returned to his. Zabuza focused his chakra on recharging the reserve in his sword and spoke to Kakashi.

"Now that the official business is concluded and all parties satisfied with it, we can focus on new business, Kakashi. I still am going to kill that bridge builder and you can still walk away from this. Like I said the first time, killing you will not get me anything else. I cannot collect any bounties on your head with such a large one on mine after all. Kindly step aside."

"That will not happen, Zabuza."

"Then it seems we are going to have to deal with you first," Zabuza calmly said. He made a gesture to the Demon Brothers and one dropped a pellet that released a red cloud of smoke.

Shino, Kiba and Akamaru all flinched as the sound that was bothering them intensified a hundredfold. Zabuza chuckled, "You really have to love sonics. Stuff out of the normal human range can really mess up animal users."

Kiba stammered out, "It's coming from the warehouse." Shino looked unsteady but was rapidly regaining his composure as his bugs adjusted to the sound. "The shock of the sound affected my bugs for a moment but they are adjusting, Sensei," he reported quietly.

"Kiba, you and Akamaru escort Tazuna and Tsunami away from here. Greater distance from the source will only help the both of you," Kakashi commanded.

Kiba nodded and pulled the civilians with him as he retreated.

The Demon Brothers ran forward at a second signal from Zabuza. Both threw kunai with tags attached at Shino. He reacted by leaping backwards and sending his kikai bugs at the pair. The tags exploded into a green mist that rapidly dispersed. Shino shouted in pain again as his bugs began falling to the ground in droves. The ones that did not fall fled back into Shino's body. Once those bugs entered his body to hide, Shino collapsed in pain muttering just a single word, "Insecticide."

Zabuza chuckled, "Yup. A really nasty one too. The bugs that got back into you are spreading it all throughout your body now, Aburame. I would give your colony about 10 more minutes before it is completely dead. Damn, it is good to work for a guy with access to the latest in bug killing technology, ain't it?"

The green insecticide must have been a signal as armed mercenaries came running out of the warehouse toward Team 7. Kakashi and Sasuke moved into a position to cover Shino when Zabuza and the Demon Brothers attacked.

Anko knew something was wrong when Kiba and Shino flinched after the red smoke appeared. None of her team could hear what was being said. Once the green smoke appeared and Shino and his bugs fell, Anko knew they needed to do something. "Naruto, Hinata, You two handle the mercenaries. Use whatever means necessary to stop them. Sakura, you are with me." The team sounded out in response and jumped into action.

Sakura followed close behind Anko as the pair headed for Team 7. "Sakura, do what you can for Shino. I'll help the boys with those ninja." Before Anko could close in on the developing fight, a patch of ice appeared under her feet making her slip and fall. Sakura paused for a moment but Anko yelled, "Keep going. Follow your orders." Sakura leaped around the prone special jonin as the various combats began.

Kiba

Kiba could do little as he guided Tazuna and Tsunami away from the immediate area. He felt better as he got further away from the warehouse. The noise was dampened somewhat by the trees and bushes. He heard Akamaru bark a warning as the green smoke exploded around Team 7. He looked back but movement nearby caught his attention before he could react to Shino falling. An arrow sped down out of some nearby trees on a course to kill Tazuna. Kiba managed to deflect the shaft with a kunai but more arrows followed. Kiba realized he could only defend against the unseen attackers in the trees for the moment. If he went on the offensive or went to help his friends, Tazuna and Tsunami would die. 'Sorry guys, you have to get out of your mess without me,' he thought.

It took several minutes but Kiba got his estimate on number and position of his foes. He figured on 4 to 5 archers scattered in the trees around him. Luckily, none were behind them yet so he guided Tazuna and Tsunami toward an open area. The leaves prevented him from seeing clearly on where the snipers were so he sent Akamaru out in the bushes to spy for him as he continued to block incoming arrows. Slowly, the dog ninja was being driven away from help.

Sasuke

Sasuke knew that there would be trouble once Shino went down. He prepared a simple fire jutsu and launched it as the Demon Brothers attacked. "Fire Style: Flamethrower," he shouted as a stream of fire flowed from his lungs. The brothers split up on either side of the flames but continued to close on Sasuke. Each enemy had a short length of chain trailing and swung it at Sasuke. The Uchiha had to stop his jutsu and move or be hit by the barbed chains.

Sasuke jumped toward his foes, moving between them and drawing kunai in each hand. He was not fond of Shino but he would still not let a comrade die by doing nothing. If nothing else, it would reflect badly on him.

Sakura and Shino

Sakura reached Shino as Sasuke jumped into melee with the Demon Brothers. She knelt next to the bug user and activated her only diagnostic jutsu. The insecticide was not harming Shino yet but if the bugs died inside of him, it could kill him due to blocked chakra passages. Sakura managed to get Shino to lie flat on the ground as she talked to him. "Shino, you need to get the sick bugs out of your body. They are bringing the poison deeper into you."

Shino could barely nod as his connections with his bugs were being severed with each death. He could feel the primal fear of death as living bugs tried to keep the dying ones and the insecticide away from the colony queen.

"Sakura … queen above … left kidney. Save her … please. Colony will live … if queen … survives." After telling Sakura where his queen resided, Shino focused all his concentration on ordering all of his other living bugs out of his body. He knew Zabuza had ordered this poison so he sent them against the swordsman hoping they could get a measure of revenge before they died. His last conscious thought was how the poison was making him feel lightheaded.

Sakura cringed as a mass of dying bugs fled Shino's body in waves. She really hated bugs but she had a patient to save. Concentrating on a blood filter jutsu, she set to work making a chakra barrier around the colony queen. After a minute, the flow of living bugs ceased as all the ones that could leave Shino's motionless body did so. Dead bugs were being pushed from his body by the living ones trapped behind them making Sakura cringe but her concentration never faltered. Drops of a pale green liquid began forming on Shino's skin as the filter jutsu did its work

Anko

Anko managed to get off the patch of ice and back to her feet. She saw a masked ninja approaching and making hand signs. Water flew up from the swamp and formed into an ice spear that attempted to impale her. Anko managed to avoid the projectile but it turned and came at her again. She summoned a pair of horse-sized snakes to go after her enemy as she continued to dodge the ice and now incoming senbon needles.

Kakashi

Kakashi charged at Zabuza. He knew that he could not allow the former Mist ninja to get his giant sword into fighting condition. Zabuza grunted with effort as he flooded chakra into his blade. He was forced to jump back from Kakashi's attack and ran off toward the water. He would need to rely on water jutsu for now. Zabuza slid the sword into the harness on his back and made hand signs. A series of water bullets flew at Kakashi who countered by creating a V shaped earth wall to block and deflect them. Kakashi then leaped over his wall and descended toward Zabuza who pulled his sword from his back again to wait.

Naruto and Hinata

The pair ran toward what had originally appeared to be a dozen or so mercenaries. Naruto got worried as more and more kept streaming out of the open warehouse. Naruto stopped and made the hand sign and created a dozen shadow clones. The clones got in a line and pulled out shuriken. When the mercenaries were in range, the clones hurled the weapons at the charging men. The metal stars cut down man after man and slowed the charge as the wounded fell and blocked their comrades. The clones' shuriken all left real wounds but the weapons poofed out of existence after the chakra used to create them dispersed. Dozens of mercenaries fell but as many continued forward. Then the mercenaries swarmed over Naruto, Hinata and the clones. Kunai met swords axes and clubs. Taijutsu met fists.

One by one the clones fell under the blows but for each clone to go down three mercenaries did. Naruto could not create more, as he was too busy fending off attacks. Anko and Jiraiya would be proud of his fighting prowess. He hit vital spots, pressure points and joints to incapacitate rather than kill. In spite of their teachings, he was reluctant to strike a direct killing blow. He sidestepped a thrust from a short sword and riposted with kick to the side of the man's extended leg; tearing tendons and ligaments as it collapsed sideways, the man screaming in pain. The next opponent was in his face before he could even think about it.

The moments before Hinata engaged in battle, she cast one of the genjutsu she had developed with Anko. She could not sign the snake contract like Anko had hoped but she could fake it. "Arms of the Dancing Asp" she cried out. Her byakugan activated and her arms took on the appearance of vipers as she engaged with her own taijutsu. The sight of the girl having snakes for arms was a huge distraction for the men. What had at first seemed like easy victory against a small 13 yr old girl suddenly became a deadly fight. Hinata struck with a precision and speed that when combined with the illusion on her arms made the men think they were truly fighting snakes. She hit the first man in the stomach and throat and he folded up and fell. The second took two hits on his arm and his weapon fell to the ground from a useless hand. 'It's working,' she thought. 'I am doing it.' Her confidence increased and so did her attacks. The paralyzing poison she hit them with along with the juken strikes had the mercenaries falling before her. To anyone just watching the battle, Hinata appeared to be dancing. She moved like water under and around their guard, struck and was moving to the next man before the previous one hit the ground.

The pair tore through the remaining mercenaries like a scythe through wheat. In less than 5 minutes, nearly 100 broken men lay at the feet of Naruto and Hinata.

Sasuke

'I need to move faster,' Sasuke thought. It turned out the Demon Brothers were not as skilled individually as he feared they would be from their names. However, they were extremely good at working together in their attacks so that one would always be coming at Sasuke. 'Maybe there is something to teamwork after all,' he thought as he dodged another swing from the barbed chains. Sasuke was getting tired quickly. His head pounded as the brothers swung both chains at him at once. 'Damn, I won't be able to dodge this.' Suddenly, his head cleared up some as the chains seemed to slow in his vision. It was as if he could suddenly see where the attack would go so he could avoid it. He jumped and bent at the same time, avoiding both swings. Sasuke rolled to his feet and charged one Demon Brother with his kunai. The Mist ninja began to defend but Sasuke could tell where the block was going to be so the attack point was shifted. The kunai slid past the defense and cut through the wrist of the Demon Brother. 'It was too easy,' Sasuke thought as the blood sprayed from the man's severed hand.

A roar of anguish came from the second Brother. Sasuke saw the man begin a series of hand signs and saw the chakra being molded. 'I can see chakra! My sharingan activated!' he thought. He knew where the attack was going to hit and ran forward dodging the jutsu. A jump kick to the head laid the Brother low and Sasuke spun to see what else as happening.

Kakashi and Zabuza

Kakashi and Zabuza had been fighting to a stalemate for several minutes now. Zabuza could not wield his sword as well as he had hoped yet. Between the residual wound on his arm and the need to be pumping chakra into his weapon to counteract the still dying bugs around him, he could not get the battle to go the way he wanted. Kakashi was denying the missing ninja the chance to regain any initiative but could not press things himself, as Zabuza was too good with the blade for Kakashi to close in. The minor duel with ninjutsu was draining both down. Kakashi could keep mirroring Zabuza move for move and even with the drain his Sharingan produced would outlast the swordsman.

The cries of pain and the fall of the Demon Brothers changed the tempo of the battle completely. A glance told Kakashi of the victory of Naruto and Hinata against the cannon fodder and Anko was in a deadlock with the masked ninja who create and use ice somehow.

"Your forces are losing, Zabuza. Don't make me have to end your life to end this battle," Kakashi told him.

Zabuza sneered at Kakashi, "I would not take your mercy every if it meant I would become Mizukage. I am going to beat you. 'I need to get out of this head to head jutsu battle so I can use my sword.' "HAKU, USE YOUR ICE NEEDLES BARRAGE!!" Zabuza cried out

Anko and Haku

Anko was getting tired of this masked boy she was facing. His ice jutsu were incredible and keeping her at more than an arm's length away. She always did her best work close up relying mainly in her poisons and snake jutsu to wear down her foes. The boy was fast enough to keep out of that range but her snake summons were keeping him from getting far enough to launch any devastating attacks of his own.

The boy kept trying to create some kind of mirrors with his ice but the summons would crush them before the sheets could form. She would wear the kid down soon enough. She could see him panting and gasping as she was gaining ground and closing in.

Haku knew he was in trouble and he could not defeat this jonin he was facing. The yell from Zabuza meant a certain last ditch attack to allow them to escape. He jumped away from the snake pursuing him again and made a one-handed hand sign. Water rose up from the ground around him to form into needles of ice. They all flew away from him in a circle clearing the immediate area by driving back the Leaf jonin and her snakes. Haku then made a quick series of hand signs to produce 6 of his ice mirrors around himself in the shape of a hexagon. "Spinning Ice Mirror Bombardment"

Anko knew this was bad as the enemy ninja appeared in each mirror and drew double handfuls of senbon needles. "INCOMING!!" she shouted to her team and allies.

Needles flew outwards from the mirrors at every Konoha ninja in the area.

Sasuke saw the needles coming and knocked them away with kunai.

Sakura got between the needles and Shino, letting the senbon pepper her back rather than hit the helpless bug user. The light armor weave of her dress prevented deep wounds but the needles still hurt.

Zabuza used his sword as a shield since he knew the attack would miss him but was not completely certain. Kakashi moved so that Zabuza was between himself and the boy in the mirrors and sheltered himself from the metal storm.

Anko had her summons get between herself and the needles. The summons vanished in a cloud of smoke as the bombardment dispelled them.

Hinata and Naruto had been busy pulling weapons away from some of the downed but still moving mercenaries when a mirror of ice rose up behind them. Naruto caught a glimpse of it when he heard Anko shout and raised an arm up to his face. He took a barrage of needles on his side, shoulder and arm. Hinata had been facing away and took the hits on her back and neck. A soft whimper from her was all Naruto heard once the attack stopped.

He looked to see Hinata wide eyed and staring as the whisper of an exhaled breath sounded. Then her eyes seemed to darken but remained staring out at him as she fell forward limply. Naruto caught her before she hit the ground. "Hinata? HINATA!!" he cried out. She just lay limp and boneless in his arms and her open yet empty eyes stared into his.

Everything else seemed to disappear to Naruto. All he saw was Hinata in his arms, motionless, not breathing. His heartbeat echoed in his chest but it suddenly felt emptier than it had the day before.

"no."

The softest of whispers from his mouth as he voiced his disbelief. He shook her gently but got no response.

"no"

The sound of feet running past him brought Naruto out of his stupor. He saw Zabuza and Haku run past. 'The person in the ice. He did this. He hurt Hinata!!'

"YOU!!" shouted Naruto at the fleeing ninja. He laid Hinata's still form on the ground and ran a few steps after the pair. They stopped just past the fallen mercenaries.

"Aww, is your little girlfriend hurt boy? Be glad those jonin are coming or you would be joining her in death," Zabuza taunted.

Death. The word echoed in Naruto's head. All he could see was scenes of the past year and a half he had spent with Hinata. Her laughing, smiling, blushing. All the things that made her special to him. Anger rose in him at the taunt and something inside of him snapped.

* * *

**'Yes, time to push.'** A tendril of red energy pulsed out of the cage as Naruto's anger tugged at the Fox's chakra. The Kyuubi felt the connection to Naruto's mind form through the energy. **'He is not pulling enough for me to control him, but it's enough of a connection to send him a message.'** The Kyuubi pushed a thought through the demonic chakra into Naruto's mind. It was whispering into the back of his mind. _'Make them pay. You have the power to make them pay, if you only use it.'_

* * *

Naruto began sweating as he trembled, summoning power from within him. He would make them pay for taking away his Hinata. The ground shook as red energy appeared and swirled around Naruto. Zabuza and Haku both looked at each other then began backing away. Kakashi and Anko stopped and got in defensive positions as the red energy rose up around Naruto.

'This is bad,' thought Kakashi. 'That is Kyuubi's chakra.'

Naruto's eyes snapped open and glared at Zabuza and Haku. His normally blue eyes took on a slitted red hue. The look on his face became warped into a feral snarl as the demonic chakra fed his rage. He ran forward at a speed he had never attained before and hit Haku hard in the stomach. The kimono-wearing boy skidded backwards and tried to defend himself. Naruto rained blows down faster than Haku could block. Lefts, Rights, Kicks, Haku was pummeled badly before Zabuza could even react. The snapping of bones sounded in quick succession as Haku's shins and forearms snapped under the assault. Haku dropped his arms in pain and was rewarded with an uppercut to the face that shattered his mask and lifted him off the ground before he fell flat on his back in agony.

Naruto stalked over to Haku; his face full of anger. The red energy gathered in his right hand took on the appearance of a claw as he stood over Haku and prepared to finish things.

"Naruto, NO!" shouted Anko.

"Naruto, don't do it!" put in Kakashi.

The blow was falling when Naruto saw Haku's eyes. Eyes full of pain and fear. Fear of Naruto. In the moment before the blow struck Haku's stomach, Naruto relented and stopped focusing the chakra into his blow. The red glow lessened as it hit and Haku gasped deeply and stopped moving but he was still breathing. Naruto stood over the boy looking down and watched the slow up and down of Haku's breathing in silence as the red chakra dispersed.

Zabuza was shaken out of his viewing the scene and sprung at Naruto, sword raised high to cut Naruto to bits when a chirping sound stopped him. Kakashi was running at Zabuza from behind shouting "Chidori!" Lightning energy crackled around Kakashi's fist as he struck. Zabuza took the blow in his left shoulder and crumpled to the ground next to Haku.

Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and smirked; 'Now THAT is a jutsu worth copying.'

Naruto stood looking down at the slowly breathing Haku. Slowly, he turned and walked on unsteady legs back to where Hinata lay on the ground. He fell to his knees beside the girl and with great care plucked all the senbon from her back and neck. He did not notice the tears running down his face the whole time. Once the needles were removed, he sat down and cradled her still form onto his lap. A trembling hand reached up to massage her eyelids closed and as the tears fell harder he hugged Hinata close and softly sang a lullaby.

Anko saw Kakashi take down Zabuza and had been heading toward the enemy when a trio of explosions rocked the woods nearby. "That is where Kiba went," she told Kakashi. Kakashi looked at Sasuke and gestured for him to follow and the pair ran off after Kiba. 

Kiba

Kiba found it easier to defend Tazuna and Tsunami in the clearing. The enemies remained hidden in the trees around it. He was too busy deflecting arrows to focus on where they were coming from. Luckily, Akamaru had located three archers already and determined there were only five in total firing. He returned to Kiba and growled out the locations of the ones he found. Kiba grinned and pulled out three kunai tagged with explosives. He activated the tags and hurled at the locations Akamaru identified. Screams of pain followed in the explosions. The rain of arrows lessened and Akamaru ran back to find the last 2 men.

Kiba pulled out another pair of tagged kunai and waited for a signal. He could watch the trees now for the snipers instead of focusing on the incoming arrows. A bit of motion got his attention before an arrow burst out of the leaves. A kunai was sent toward the spot as he knocked another arrow down. The explosion was followed by the thud of a falling body. Akamaru barked under the tree of the last archer. Kiba prepared to throw the last kunai when the archer surrendered. He saw that all his comrades were injured or dead. And figured he would rather face prison that get blown to bits.

Kiba was tying the man when Kakashi and Sasuke reached them. The trio escorted Tazuna, Tsunami and the wounded prisoners back to the warehouse.

* * *

Sakura leaned back from her work. It had only taken a total of 10 minutes for her to help Shino but the battle had raged around her and finished in less than that. She was exhausted but proud. She had saved the queen for Shino's kikai colony and about 5 percent of the drones survived as well. Shino stirred and listened as the pain of his colony dying had stopped overwhelming him. "Sakura-san. Arigato." Shino opened his eyes and got unsteadily to his feet as he listened to his remaining bugs.

Anko and some of her largest snake summons guarded over the mercenaries, Zabuza and Haku, and the Demon Brothers. The men were all beaten and she was not in the mood to deal with any trouble. "The first one to even BREATHE funny will be lunch. Understood?" She made her point. She was very upset with what happened to Hinata but she could not show the weakness right now. She had to keep herself together until she got somewhere private. No one could be allowed to see the hard ass bitch cry.

Naruto just sat holding onto Hinata. He had cried himself out of tears and just sat rocking slowly. He was tired, his chakra exhausted from his stunt with Haku and the red chakra he had used made him feel sick. He was not sure what to do next when a soft voice sounded in his ear

"na … ru … to"

Next Chapter: Toads, Gatos, and Discussions, Oh My

End Notes: It is sad that I cannot provide all kinds of cool visuals and the music Naruto anime has to really drag out that fight and the downing of Hinata. your imagination will have to fill that in. Words alone can only convey so much and I think that is the only point the chapter is weak.

Review Notes:  
Sasuke bashing is not my main focus here. Yes, I have him painted in no good terms but he is just another background person here.  
The main focus remains on the true star, Naruto. It is his story and things that do not affect him remain happening 'off scene'. To a lesser extent it has Hinata as a secondary focus as she is the love interest.  
Sections tend to be seen from the point of view of one of the characters currently active like the opening scene was from Tazuna's point of view. 


	15. Toads, Gatos and Discussions, Oh My

**Toads, Gatos and Discussions, Oh My**

Jiraiya got to the Fire Country side of the unfinished bridge and paused for a few minutes to catch his breath. 'I am getting too old to run like this. I should have ridden a toad here.' He saw several ships patrolling the water near the bridge. At least one of them was flying pirate colors. Two others boasting the flag of Gato Shipping were in the water nearby but left alone by the pirate. 'It looks like they are trying to discourage people from getting to the Wave more than anything else.' Jiraiya decided to wait until all the ships were moving away from the incomplete bridge to risk running across the water.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke cautiously entered the warehouse on Kakashi's orders. Sasuke had his Sharingan active and scanned the open interior. There were no additional mercenaries in sight. They could hear some people in the building somewhere. Near the entrance a strange machine was humming and vibrating. It seemed to be giving off a high pitched whine that began to grate on their nerves. It took only a short examination to find the OFF switch and shut it down. The whine faded and the mild ringing in their ears stopped. In a minute, Kiba and Akamaru came running up to tell them the noise that had been bothering them had stopped. One less thing to worry about. The trio and dog ventured further into the warehouse.

"I don't know why we have to do all the work here," Sasuke complained. "The Hyuuga died, the Loser should just get over it."

Sakura glared at the dark haired emo. 'How dare he insult Hinata and Naruto like that.' The boy's callus treatment of the situation made her want to hurt Sasuke. "You are not one to be talking. You have not gotten over your loss and it was years ago. His was only just a few minutes ago."

"You know NOTHING, Haruno," Sasuke growled out. "I had my entire clan taken away. I swore revenge and I will have it one day."

Kiba got between the pair, "Enough, we have a job to get done in here. Akamaru says there are some more people in the building but they all smell dirty and sweaty."

The ninja just worked their way to the far end of the building and found a half dozen laborers loading carts with food. The workers gave up when the trio approached with weapons drawn.

* * *

Jiraiya finally was able to cross the narrow gap in the bridge and ran along the finished portion to the town at the Wave end. A squad of mercenaries was waiting when he arrived at land.

"Surrender, old man. We do not want to have to kill you. How did you get out onto the bridge?" one challenged.

"I walked," Jiraiya replied. "It seemed such a nice day for one. The fresh sea air is so inspirational for an author."

"Well, you need to come with us. Our boss does not want anyone going out onto the bridge for any reason."

Jiraiya paused for a moment before smiling broadly. "Of course. Might I inquire your boss' name?"

"Lord Gato. He will soon be ruling this land completely. Once the bridge is done, he will assume his rightful place as Lord of the Wave Country." The mercenary seemed proud of his proclamation as if he would benefit from the entire situation.

Jiraiya smirked and pulled out a copy of his latest book. "Well, do you think I could possibly meet him? I have a copy of my latest work and I would love to provide him with an autographed copy."

The mercenary saw the porn and stumbled out, "Certainly, Lord Gato would love to meet the author of the famous Icha Icha books."

Jiraiya smiled broadly again and followed the mercenary.

* * *

"na … ru … to"

Naruto opened his eyes and looked. He still held the girl in his arms but she was no longer pale or still. Her chest rose slowly and color had returned to her face. Hinata was alive! Her eyes were barely open and she looked up at him confused. The shock showed on his face as he just stared.

Hinata's voice was weak but clear, "Naruto, why are you crying? What happened?"

Tears once again formed in Naruto's eyes as he stammered out a reply, "I … I thought you were dead. You weren't breathing and I thought you left me."

Hinata lifted a hand to Naruto's cheek and gently brushed away tears. "You were crying for me? But I thought you did not like me like that?"

Naruto recalled the words that had started the problems a few days before. "No, you're my best friend in the world, Hinata. I said to Jiraiya-sensei that I don't have pervy thoughts about you. You're like a princess and I'm just … me."

Hinata was still weak but she wrapped her arms tight as she could around Naruto. Tears began to run down her face as the stress of the past few days drained away. He liked her. He called her his best friend.

After a minute, she relaxed and was getting light-headed. "I'm tired, Naruto-kun."

"Then you rest a bit, Hinata-chan. We have a lot to do around here but I don't think you can do much right now." Naruto slowly lay her down on the ground and waved Shino over. "Hinata is ok, Shino. She is asleep now but she's alive," he told the bug user in an excited tone.

"That is good news, Naruto. I need to rest soon as well but I can watch over her if you can aid your sensei with the prisoners."

Naruto nodded and got up and went over toward Anko.

Anko noticed the motion from Naruto and heard him start to talk and saw Hinata move as well. 'She's alive!! Hmm, the breeze must be stirring up that damn insecticide. It is making my eyes water.' She rubbed the tears away before anyone else could notice. Minutes later, Naruto joined her and was babbling on about Hinata being alive somehow. She smiled at the boy and knew that whatever remaining problems the kids had would be solved soon enough.

* * *

Kakashi was busy checking over Zabuza and Haku. It looked like the swordsman would not be using his left arm again for a long time, if ever. The Chidori, 1000 Birds, he had used against the Mist ninja had shattered the man's shoulder joint and collarbone. Kakashi would have preferred to use the more powerful Raikiri, Lightning Blade for a guaranteed killing blow. Raikiri needed much more energy and focus to use. It also required he be standing still to gather the chakra while Chidori could be generated while in motion. Necessity made his decision for him. If he had taken the time for his preference, the swordsman would have beheaded Naruto.

The Copy Ninja stripped the Mist ninja of their weapons and moved the zanbato away to the rest of the weapons under Shino's guard. No sense in leaving a temptation in case either one awoke. He looked at Haku breathing raggedly next to his Master. The boy was lucky. The strike Naruto had come up with in a moment would have killed the boy outright if it had struck. No telling right now what being hit with that much demonic chakra would do to the boy but it did not bode well.

At least Naruto had listened. The Mist boy could not fight back and had been defeated. Leaf ninja did not execute captives unless a war or extreme situation demanded such an action. In a fight, enemies would die. Some of the mercenaries Naruto and Hinata had taken down might not survive their wounds. But Leaf ninja did not murder out of hand. That was one of the basic rules created in the foundation of Konoha. When possible, defeated enemies were turned in to daimyos and other leaders to let the legal system decide the fates. It was not a perfect rule but it set a Leaf ninja above the rest, at least in their opinion. It also made sleeping at night much easier as well.

* * *

Kiba, Sakura and Sasuke returned with the warehouse workers and noticed Naruto had set Hinata back down onto the ground but had moved to Anko and was smiling. Shino was now sitting next to Hinata when Kakashi called everyone together near the downed girl. The Konoha ninja gathered together while the summoned snakes guarded over the prisoners.

"Hinata's alive, Sakura!" Naruto called out.

Sakura smiled at the news and wanted to rush over to the other girl but Kakashi began talking.

"There are too many captives for us to watch by ourselves and Gato is not here. He will learn about his ninja losing soon enough and we do not have a lot of time to interrogate these mercenaries for information on where he is. Kiba, you will scout around and find out if there are any patrols of mercenaries nearby. Sasuke, you head to town and get the locals to come help us with these prisoners. We can use the warehouse as a temporary holding area until the local authorities decide what to do with them. Likely some of them have bounties on their heads so they will be facing a lot more than simple prison."

Sasuke nodded and ran off toward the main town a few miles away.

"Naruto, you secure the building. Make sure all the exits are sealed up tight so no one can escape or get in without us knowing."

Naruto nodded and slowly trotted off to do his assigned work.

"Sakura, you check over Hinata and Shino. She is weak from whatever that attack did to her. I have seen one similar where a person is put into a death-like state but it takes days before their chakra returns to normal. Shino appears to be slipping into a mild shock from his colony nearly being destroyed and the effects of that insecticide. After you check them over, look at some of the more wounded prisoners. Let Anko or myself know if any are not likely to survive."

Sakura nodded and walked over to Hinata and Shino.

"Anko, we need your summons to stand guard until the locals can take things over here. Could you go search the offices in the warehouse for any useful information?"

Anko nodded and went into the warehouse.

Kakashi then went to bring the fallen Demon Brothers to the prisoners and began searching them for hidden weapons.

* * *

Sasuke ran toward town but stopped about a mile outside. He went thru the hand signs he had seen Kakashi use for his Chidori jutsu. Sasuke frowned as nothing happened. He went through the hand seals and molded his chakra on the water bullet jutsu the Demon Brother had used. It was a strain but the jutsu worked. He shook his head. One worked but not the other. Focusing his chakra as much as he could, he tried a second time on the Chidori but only managed to generate a spark instead of the fistful of lightning that Kakashi had made. Something was different and his chakra would not mold like he had seen it done. He would have to go consult his clan library on why he could not simply use the jutsu.

Sasuke set out running again. He reached town a few minutes later and headed for the mayor's office.

* * *

Jiraiya was led onto a nicely apportioned yacht. Shortly, he was brought into a nice room where a short man sat behind a desk. "My men tell me you are the author of the Icha Icha series and have brought me a gift."

"Yes, I have. I am Jiraiya, the man known far and wide. I was passing through this lovely territory and felt that I should pay a visit to the people who hold power. It is always a good idea to cultivate good relations." Jiraiya was in full 'pervert' mode now. His gestures were wildly exaggerated and his grin could rival Gai's. "I have heard about the wealthy industrialist Gato and felt I should include you in my visits."

Gato smiled as his ego was stroked by Jiraiya. "I am just a simple businessman for now, Jiraiya. I hope that I could find a place that might need my services one day. The country here is poor and beset by hard times so I thought I could pay it a visit and see about locating a few of my business ventures here."

"Ah, so you are responsible for that fine bridge out there, Gato-sama?"

"Regrettably, no. The builder has been having some labor troubles and I have come to see if my influence can help solve things and perhaps provide some assistance in its completion."

'Geez, this guy is oily.' Jiraiya thought. 'No wonder he got so powerful if he can make things seem like he is saving people when he in fact is the one who causes the problems that allow him to step in. But he is smooth about it. I need to get out of here and get with Anko and Kakashi about this guy.'

Jiraiya produced the book that had been shown to the guards earlier and presented it to Gato. "A signed first edition of my latest book. I hope you enjoy the chapter with Michiru and Haruka. That one has received the most response from fans."

Gato took the book and set it to one side before smiling his greasy smile at Jiraiya and then dismissed the author.

Jiraiya was being led down the boarding ramp when he noticed a squad of mercenaries come running up to the yacht.

"We need to see the boss right away! Some Leaf ninja just took out the guys the boss hired to take out the bridge builder!" the leader told the guard at the foot of the ramp.

The ramp guard slapped the mercenary who had spoken. "Dammit, you know you are not supposed to come here and talk about that stuff in public. And in front of someone, too." The guard turned to Jiraiya and spoke, "Could you just go back on board for a few minutes, Jiraiya-sama? We are having a security issue and for your own safety we need you to remain here."

'Well, if that does not confirm the suspicions then nothing will. Let's see how far I can play this out.'

"There is no need to worry about me. I can take care of myself. No one wants to hurt the Gallant Jiraiya." Jiraiya went into his pose and grinned at the guard.

"I am afraid I must insist, Jiraiya-sama. It would not do for someone as esteemed as you to suffer an 'accident' while near our employer's yacht."

'Yup, that's a threat. Well, time to get theatrical on this mission.' "I really cannot stay any longer gentlemen, so I will be going now." Jiraiya back kicked the escort behind him before making an intentionally badly performed spinning to kick the guard speaking to him in the face. Both fell as Jiraiya ran past the mercenaries. "None can hold the Gallant Jiraiya!!" he cackled as the white haired Sannin ran into the nearby town.

The mercenaries looked at each other, "That is one crazy old man."

* * *

Sakura finished her follow up first aid on Hinata and Shino with little trouble. Hinata was suffering from minor exhaustion due to her chakra being stopped by the senbon attack. Shino had slipped into a minor shock as the loss of most of his kikai colony had an effect on him. He was able to function well enough to keep an eye on Hinata for the moment but she felt he should rest as soon as possible.

The enemy ninja were nearly as easy to deal with. Kakashi had given first aid to the Demon Brother with the missing hand. There was nothing else she could do for that. Zabuza had massive bruising and shattered bones in his shoulder from Kakashi's chidori attack but nothing life threatening at the moment. She merely immobilized the arm while the other had been almost cruelly bound up behind him. Sakura knew that even with a single working arm the man was dangerous so she did not touch Kakashi's bindings there.

The boy, Haku, was a different story. The boy remained unconscious. He had severe chakra burns on his stomach and broken bones in his forearms and shins. She stopped counting at a dozen fractures and just tried to splint the wounds as best as she could. This was something beyond her few first aid medical jutsu could handle. She was puzzled by multiple small chakra burns scattered around Haku's body near all the major pressure points and knew that they corresponded to several major tenketsu. She would have to get Hinata to look at the boy's chakra network after she recovered.

As far as the mercenaries were concerned, they had mostly taken care of themselves. The ones able to move had done first aid on the ones who could not. She was delighted to find that none were going to die any time soon unless something bad happened.

Kiba finished his sweep of the local area and saw signs that a patrol had been nearby recently but had quickly left. He began back to report to Kakashi that they might have more company soon if Gato had more men on the island.

As he was heading back to the warehouse, he saw a small group of men approaching along with Sasuke. He came out of concealment and went to the Uchiha. "This is all the men the town can spare?"

"Hn. No, this is all the ones that are not afraid to come. Cowards, the lot of them."

One man spoke up at Sasuke's remark, "It is not a matter of bravery or cowardice, boy. It is a matter of survival. All of us are workers on the bridge project. We already knew what we are in for if the project fails and Gato remains in power here. The rest are looking out for their wives and children. You ninja are only here for a short time. We have to be around for all the things that come after you leave. If Gato remains, any who go against him will have a lot of problems."

Sasuke had no good reply to that so he just made his normal dismissal and continued on with Kiba to the warehouse.

* * *

As soon as Sakura had looked over the wounded, Anko and Naruto began the process of moving the mercenaries to the warehouse jail. The captives that could aid them in this did so. Anko was mildly surprised that a few of the mercenaries took the time to be careful with their fellows. She figured that even if they had an evil employer, even some good might exist inside a handful of these men. The captive mercenaries were locked up by the time that the party led by Sasuke arrived. The 4 ninja were kept in a separate area.

With the mercenaries secure, Anko saw Naruto want to head over to the sleeping Hinata. She stopped him before the boy could get to his destination.

"You and Hinata did good with the troops, Naruto. I am glad that both of you remembered your training when the time came to use it. You both did your teachers proud." She smirked as the boy blushed lightly at the praise.

"Hinata did most of the close in stuff. My clones and weapons took down a lot, but I could have done a better when that last attack came."

"No, you couldn't have. We will discuss it at length during the debrief and when we can dissect the mission later, but what happened was something you could not have prevented. You did your job as assigned and did it well. You two handled a huge responsibility and the attack that hurt Hinata was something from outside of that."

"For now, I want you to police the area for weapons that you used as well as seeing if anything the mercenaries had is worth salvaging. Destroy what the Wave folks do not want. Kakashi is in charge of you after that. I'll take Hinata, Sakura and Shino back to Tazuna's house to rest." Naruto nodded with a frown but obeyed.

A few minutes later, Anko left carrying Hinata while Sakura helped along Shino. Tazuna and Tsunami followed behind. Naruto spent some time picking up shuriken and kunai before rummaging in the pile of weapons. He did not enjoy the busy work but it kept his mind occupied.

* * *

Kakashi was discussing the guard positions with the Wave men. The men from the town had vouched for the warehouse workers as being plain laborers and trustworthy. Kakashi accepted this when he sensed someone powerful in the immediate area. He smiled under his mask as he recognized the chakra signature. Jiraiya leapt into the open area where the battle had taken place and waved to Kakashi. Kakashi excused himself and walked over to Jiraiya.

"Hello Kakashi," Jiraiya nodded as the Copy Ninja came up to him. "I ran into the boss of these men your team took out. From what I saw, he has a few dozen mercenaries left but the big problem is it his boat sails out of here we will miss a chance at him. He could use his money and power to come back here at a later date."

"Hmmm. Judging by the force he had here he has not been too carefree with his money. The men he had here outside of the team Zabuza had were just jutsu fodder and your genin took them down easily enough."

An explosion rocked the warehouse. Zabuza and one Demon Brother leapt out from a hole in the side. The pair fled toward the town and Gato's boat. The Sannin and jonin both ran to the warehouse and found the boy Haku and the second Demon Brother still unconscious and bound as before. "Zabuza must have used a one handed seal with his left hand. The shoulder and upper arm were shattered but we had not bound the hand since the good arm was tied. The boy lying there had used them against Anko so it stands to reason his master would know them as well."

Jiraiya nodded. "One handed seals are very difficult to control. He must have used an escape jutsu on the other one who escaped then been untied. Kakashi, get your team together and we will go after them." Within minutes, Kiba and Akamaru joined the elder ninja from the patrol they had been on. Sasuke came from the other side of the warehouse and Naruto arrived from destroying weapons.

"I know this will be a team that has not trained together, but that is not important now. Naruto, do you know standard formations?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, for all 3 standard positions," Naruto responded

Kakashi nodded, "Good, you take up Shino's normal place in the backup role. Sasuke, Kiba, we are in a pursuit of the 2 that escaped. They had no weapons but should be considered highly dangerous because they are desperate. Jiraiya, could you follow behind as backup?"

Jiraiya nodded and waited a minute after Kakashi and team ran off before following.

* * *

Zabuza's head was foggy as he ran toward the bridge town and Gato's boat. How had things gone wrong so fast? Those genin from Konoha had been a lot tougher than he had expected. The entire bunch he faced could have made chunin in the Mist already. The two short ones had taken down close to 100 mercenaries and the jonin had fought Haku to a standstill. Without the boy's blood limit he would have been easily defeated. The Aburame went down as planned but then that pink haired one turned out to be a medic of some kind. Then the dark haired one that should have fallen before the Demon Brothers turned out to be a blasted UCHIHA with a working Sharingan. This was not how this job should have gone. The price Gato had offered was too tempting and he needed the money to fund his attempt to force a coup in the Mist village.

The boat that served as Gato's floating headquarters was just ahead. Zabuza and his minion were quickly brought before Gato.

"You failed me, Momochi. You only had to kill a simple bridge builder and you could not do that right. If he had died, I could have swooped in and taken control of the bridge and owned it outright along with this stinking hole of a country. Now I have only 1 recourse to keep the Konoha ninja off my case."

Zabuza heard a gurgle behind him. He turned to see the Demon Brother sagging with the point of a katana extending out from his chest. The guard pulled the sword free and the corpse fell to the ground. The guard swung at Zabuza but the Mist ninja proved why he was one of the Seven Swordsman. He sidestepped the blow and kicked the wrist of the guard to make the man drop the katana. Before the weapon could hit the ground, Zabuza had caught it and swung. The guard and his separated head fell beside the Demon Brother and Zabuza turned to face Gato.

His broken left shoulder was exploding in pain as he was forced to keep his arm still as he moved. The Mist ninja frowned as Gato began to beg for his life. Zabuza's head swam as the pain brought him close to passing out. Zabuza swung his captured weapon.

* * *

Kakashi and his team closed in on the town and harbor. The patrols of mercenaries slowed them down slightly as they were alerted by Zabuza's passing through. The mercenaries fell before Sasuke and Kiba before Naruto could even engage. Even so, it was time lost in their pursuit. If Gato set sail before the team arrived, all would be lost.

The team arrived at the harbor and found several bodies littering the ground. Sitting on the gangway to the boat sat Momochi Zabuza holding a bloody katana.

"That is close enough, Kakashi. I know what you intend to do with me. I will be sent back to the Mist village to satisfy the price on my head. I refuse to go back there wounded and in shackles. I only ask one thing from you. The boy, Haku, is not a missing ninja. I found him as an orphan and took him in to use as my weapon. He has a bloodline that allows him to create and control ice. Sending him to the Mist village would be a death warrant for the boy because they kill anyone with a bloodline. Take him with you."

"You do not have to do this, Zabuza. There has to be another way."

"I lost, Kakashi. I killed Gato because he betrayed me when I returned to him. No one will hire me after this. The Mist hunters will be on my trail within days smelling my blood in the water. I am done for whether I surrender to you or try to escape the hunters. But I will be done on my own terms. I hope you understand that much given your own family history."

Kakashi nodded grimly, "I do understand. Team, do not look away. Give the Demon of the Mist one last honor by bearing witness."

The genin all agreed and Zabuza fell forward onto the katana.

* * *

Naruto sat on the dock outside of Tazuna's house watching the sunset and lost in the events of the past week. The bridge was nearly complete now. The teams had waited for the daimyo of the Land of Waves to deal with the mercenaries. Several dozen had rewards and bounties on their heads. Kakashi, Anko and Jiraiya agreed that half the reward money be awarded to the village. The rest were sentenced to work prisons for their actions. Gato's assets in Wave were seized by the daimyo until an investigation in their purchase was completed. It appeared at the present that most would be returned to the people that had been forced to sell under pressure for the return of the purchase price.

Shino recovered from his shock within days. Shino's colony was growing again as the queen made more children to replace the killed insects. Hinata remained weak for a week and had only been allowed out of bed this morning.

The boy Haku awakened after a few days. He grieved for the loss of his master and tried to kill himself through an ice jutsu but when it failed to work at all, he just sat there. Hinata managed to activate her Byakugan this morning and noted that a good portion of Haku's chakra network was burnt and would be useless for months at a minimum. After a long talk with Kakashi, the boy agreed to accompany the teams to Konoha when they departed.

Kakashi incinerated the body of Momochi Zabuza and presented the ashes to Haku, as the boy was the only resembling a family the missing ninja had. Kakashi had not wanted to turn in the body for any of the rewards posted for the swordsman. The sword would be returned eventually through diplomatic channels.

Kiba and Naruto had both vomited after seeing the death of Zabuza. Sasuke just looked at the other boys and muttered, "Weak."

When construction resumed on the bridge; Kiba, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto each took time on guard duty in pairs. There were no incidents in the week they have been guarding Tazuna and the bridge neared completion. Naruto spent his evenings before sleeping out on the dock where he sat now.

"Naruto-kun, do you mind if I sit with you for a little while?" Hinata had come up to Naruto as the boy was lost in thought.

"Sure, Hinata-chan. I was just watching the sunset and thinking." The pair sat in silence as darkness settled around them.

"Naruto-kun, I want to apologize for how I reacted that day on the river. I did not hear everything that was said and made the wrong conclusion about it," Hinata said in a quiet voice. "I care about you. You have been special to me ever since I met you back at the fire. When I thought you did not care for me, it hurt and I reacted from that."

"You're special to me too, Hinata-chan. You're the first person my own age to be my friend. When I thought I lost that, it hurt me too. I felt … empty inside. I don't understand why but I did. I didn't like it."

They sat in silence a few more minutes. Both were nervous about being so open with someone else. "Naruto, I think you can only feel like that if you care about someone. All those men we hurt last week, I felt nothing for them even after seeing them on the ground."

"Maybe, I did not feel anything from that either. But, when I thought you were dead, I … I lost control. I wanted to hurt them so badly." Naruto looked up at the stars and Hinata could see tears on his face. "I was so angry. It was like there was a voice in my head telling me to make them pay. I thought I would have you back then they were taking you away from me again. I hurt that boy Haku. I was going to kill him when Anko-sensei yelled out. Then I saw his face. He … He was afraid of me, Hinata-chan. He was looking at me like I was a monster. Maybe Mizuki was right. That I am a monster."

"You're not a monster, Naruto-kun. You keep us safe from one." Naruto looked wide-eyed at Hinata. "Yes, I know about your secret. I was outside your room that night when you told the Hokage and he told you the rest. I know I should not have listened but I wanted to see you then. I wanted to know why someone risked his life for me."

"You knew? All this time, you have known and you still like me?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun. I like you very much." 'And maybe more someday,' ran through Hinata's mind.

"Hinata-chan, please stay my friend. I am not sure what I feel about you but I know that being without you makes my heart hurt."

Hinata slid a bit closer and leaned on Naruto. He tentatively put his arm around the girl as she snuggled in close to him against the chill of the deepening night. "I plan to be your friend for a long time, Naruto-kun." She smiled as she closed her eyes and just sat after that.

"Naruto-kun, do you really think I am like a princess?" The boy and girl talked well into the night.

Next Chapter: Training towards the Chunin Exams

* * *

End Notes: Another hard chapter to write. I had way more loose ends to tie up than I had planned on when I began my version of the Wave Arc. I know I am straying further off canon than many like but I see it as a natural progression as the events in Konoha have an effect on the wider world. The changing point in my story is of course the attack on the school in Chapter 1. The effects become greater as the mood toward Naruto changes and his prank series cause the missing ninja and spies I mentioned to be captured. In turn those people being absent make others react differently, hire different people and make missions become different from canon.

The largest positive in story change would be attributed to Naruto and his team and teachers. On the other side, the largest negative change would be Sasuke. Sasuke was going to be simply an angsty emo hanging out in the background but in the course of writing he has morphed into the main villain of the current part of the story. All this goes back to the change. With no Naruto as his 'friendly rival' the final year of the Academy and the attitudes of people becoming increasingly negative towards him, he is sliding to darkness faster than he did in canon. Yes, I consider him a villain in the true story. Naruto, and to a smaller extent Sakura, was what kept Sasuke on the path of light much longer in canon. Those efforts being missing in my story mean he was without those positive influences. His fall will become much harder as the story continues. Sasuke lovers should realize I am not intentionally writing a Sasuke bash but he is a villain and no story is worth anything without the villain. Proof of his canon villainy is in his putting a Chidori through the chest of his 'best friend' not once but twice in the Valley of the End.

Review Notes: There are 2 versions of Kakashi's original jutsu. Raikiri, the Lightning Blade, is the more powerful version that Kakashi uses in canon; both manga and anime. It requires hand seals and shows those seals in the manga. Refer to Volume 4, page 49. It uses lightning element chakra and if I read the manga correctly several seconds at least to generate.

Chidori, 1000 Birds, is the lower power version taught to Sasuke by Kakashi in canon. Sasuke is shown making it in Volume 13 page 91 using hand signs. This took him several seconds as well. My idea, which I used in this chapter, is that since Kakashi developed it and is of jonin level he could do a Chidori on the move. Sasuke could see the hand signs preformed with his Sharingan active and see how it is done.

This does not give him the ABILITY to do it, just the KNOWLEDGE of how to do it. To make a Chidori, he must use lightning element chakra, which he cannot do at this time. His month of training in canon with Kakashi is when he learned to harness elemental chakra. Much like reading all about how to fly a plane and playing flight simulators will give you the knowledge to fly a plane, it will not give you the skill to do so. You must develop the skill separately.

An anonymous reader mentioned that I ruined the story for him by having Naruto think of Hinata as beautiful in his first meeting with her in chapter 1. My rebuttal to this is that Naruto does see Hinata in the filler and considers her an 'ultra pretty girl' by looks alone when he does not know it was Hinata even as he views the person he knows based on personality.

Jiraiya was camping out on his way to the Wave. I did not want him to simply arrive.

Haku is a guy. Deal with it. He lives too but is a non-issue due to his injury and may never return. Deal with it.

The 'Rookie 9' genin are all VERY strong for their age and experience. They are all exceptional ninja in canon and anime. This shows in their ability to deal with high-level ninja from other villages. I am trying not to over power them but I would estimate in the current point of my story that the Team Apprentice genin are at a point of equivalent training at near the end of the anime filler. Naruto is still emotionally stunted but physically capable. Hinata is confident and developing well under Anko and her 'Arms of the Dancing Asp' would be my equivalent of her Protection of the 64 Palms in filler. Sakura is trained for 4 to 5 months both physically and in medical jutsu by this time making her able to use first aid jutsu easily.

Michiru and Haruka are Sailors Uranus and Neptune. That is as close to a same sex couple as I am going to get.


	16. Training for the Chunin Exams

Well, it has been a month since I have updated. Work before tax day, birthday parties and a pair of First Communions managed to eat up a lot of my time and weekends. Add in a nice bout of writer's block and deleting or putting off enough material to make this chapter 3 times its current size and you have a long delay.

**

* * *

**

Training toward the Chunin Exams

The opening of the Great Wave Bridge was a grand celebration. The Konoha ninja were in attendance and Tazuna gave a warm thanks to the assembled teams. Once the symbolic carts rolled across the bridge, the teams were free to leave and return to Konoha.

Team 7 and 'Team Apprentice' walked across the bridge and set off back home. Jiraiya used one of his frogs to transport Haku back to the hospital so that his broken bones could be properly dealt with. Anko took the opportunity to teach her team tree running as a faster means of traveling in cross country. It was not quite as fast as simply running down the road had been on their trip to the Wave but it allowed them to move where there were no roads. Team 7 ended up being able to follow along as both Kiba and Shino knew how to tree run from training within their clans. Sasuke growled under his breath at another thing he was slighted in his own training. He quietly used his Sharingan to observe for a few minutes to pick up the technique as it used chakra in the legs to propel the ninja along through the treetops. Within an hour of first attempting tree running on his own he had enough experience to make adequate use of the skills he had copied.

Kakashi had Team 7 travel along in a methodical manner but Anko had her genin constantly switching positions and formations. She felt that even something as simple as going from place to place was an opportunity to learn and improve. Kakashi eventually nodded at this and had a few formation changes with his team but while Kiba and Shino complied without complaint, Sasuke just glared and continued onward. He did move into the new formation after a short delay but considered the whole exercise as more wasted time.

The teams reached Konoha and reported in. The Hokage was pleased with the results of the dual missions and decided he would see them upon their return. Jiraiya and Tsunade were waiting as the teams arrived in the office. Sarutobi smiled at the line of genin before him.

"Welcome back to all of you. I am very pleased with the turnout of the missions. Team 7, your original mission was bumped up to a class B with the missing ninja you encountered. Your records and pay will reflect that. The bounties on several of the mercenaries and the missing ninja that were captured were enough to cover the higher pay. The normal percentage to the person doing the capture will be split among you genin. There will also me an additional bonus later on when the sword of Momochi Zabuza is ransomed back to the Mist."

The sound of more money made the genin smile. Naruto started to think of all the things a bonus could get him when his thoughts turned to Haku. The boy had nothing now. Naruto made a quick decision. He lifted his hand to get Sarutobi's attention then spoke in his most polite manner when acknowledged.

"Um, Hokage-sama? I know this sounds strange, but could you give my portion of the bonus regarding Zabuza to his former apprentice, Haku? He will be trying to start a new life here and has nothing to his name; even less than I had for many years."

The rest of the people assembled before Sarutobi looked at Naruto in shock. Hinata smiled gently at her friend before facing front again, "I would like to do the same, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi smiled slightly at the genin. "Even though he tried to kill you? You did earn the bonus but it is yours to do with as you like."

"Well, he did try to do that, but that was when he was our enemy. Now, he is on our side." Naruto just grinned his foxy grin and left it at that.

* * *

"That was a noble thing you did for Haku, Naruto. Noble, but stupid." Jiraiya told his apprentice.

The Old Man said it was mine to do with as I wished, so I figured he could use it more than I could. Besides, all those pranks I did for the Hokage earned me a pile of money. It is all sitting in the bank earning interest for me. As an added bonus, the Old Man stuck his name on the account so none of it could 'disappear' and is managing investing the money for me." Naruto grinned bigger. "I already own the building I live in. The previous owner was eager to sell to the Hokage's lawyer. He figured he could get rid of me and make a pile of cash on that rat trap. The rent money from the other people living there is all going toward improvements. The basic structure is pretty sound; it is just run down from no maintenance for so long."

"It sounds like you really have things worked out for now, Naruto. Now, we need to discuss a few things from the mission and see what can be improved upon. I looked over the mission report and from what I saw, your team did well. I would give it a passing grade since you all lived. There were several glaring mistakes made during the battle but those are something only experience can overcome."

"For you, your taijutsu needs a lot of work. The mercenaries should not have been able to defeat a trained genin so easily. I will admit, a 12 yr old going up against several dozen full grown men is a mismatch to begin with so I cannot fault you on your strength or speed. Your use of the clones to add extra firepower to your shuriken and kunai attacks was well done and cut into your foes numbers quite well but you need a better offense."

"I have been thinking about this since we left the Wave and I discussed it with Tsunade and Anko. I am going to teach you a new offensive jutsu to give you an edge in close combat." Jiraiya smirked and focused for a moment before a blue / white orb of charka appeared in his hand. "This jutsu was developed by the Fourth. It is called the Rasengan."

* * *

Tsunade looked at her apprentice with a slightly glaring eye. "Your performance in the Wave was acceptable. I have read Anko's report on the battle and while you had no real part in the fighting, you followed your orders correctly and saved the life of a comrade. You made good use of the first aid jutsu you have been taught already and made a good adjustment to a type of poison you had never seen before. The Aburame sent their thanks and said they will not forget your actions."

Sakura blushed lightly at the praise from her teacher. Tsunade was never one to give out praise lightly.

"The only downside to your part of the mission was that you were forced to treat a patient under fire. You did leave yourself basically defenseless during the time needed to treat your patient. That is a mistake you cannot afford most times but it only comes from a lack of experience. The one bright spot in that criticism is that you handled the one attack that targeted you and your patient. A medic ninja needs to not only treat the wounded but also to survive the battles intact. If you are a casualty then you cannot treat anyone and you are worthless to everyone. We will shift focus from strictly learning more advanced medical techniques to making you a more combat oriented field medic and add more intensive defense training."

Sakura just nodded and knew the next few months were going to be more of a hell than the previous ones.

* * *

Anko glared heavily at Hinata. The younger girl flinched slightly but stood up under the baleful gaze better than she had in the past. Anko smirked at that and proceeded.

"You did well in your part of the fight. Your jutsu and attacks were direct, fluid and accurate. You went through the mercenaries like they were a field of wheat at harvest time. That part was good."

"However, you lowered your guard while there was still fighting in the area and it almost cost you your life. That part is unacceptable. You can never lower your guard like that Hinata. This time you got lucky. You lived. I will grant that the person who took you down was more skilled and a very difficult opponent. He gave me some trouble. All I will say regarding that part of the battle now is learn from it."

"Your father was impressed with what he read regarding your performance. He told me that he wishes for you to continue training in your new style but you will also go back to training with him in your clan's main Gentle Fist style. As you learn more, we can incorporate it into the Flowing Fist. I figure that sounds better than calling it Water Fist."

* * *

Three different teachers look at their apprentices and all said the same thing. "We have 3 months to get you ready to see if you can make it into the Chunin Exams."

* * *

Sasuke searched through his clan's dusty library of scrolls. He recalled everything about that jutsu which Kakashi called Chidori but he still could not get it to work. He was missing something. He was not going to ask about it because for some reason he felt that he would be told he should not have the jutsu. But all of those others were wrong. He was an Uchiha. He was a member of one of the founding clans of Konoha. He was the elite of the village. On top of all of that, he needed strong jutsu. He had to avenge his parents, and all of his clan. He needed to hate and grow strong enough to defeat Itachi. He would not let all of these weaklings hold him back from what he needed to do.

Sasuke unrolled what seemed to be the hundredth scroll of the day and smiled in an almost feral fashion. This was what he had been looking for. The title of the scroll read, 'Manipulating Elemental Chakra'

* * *

The weeks passed by for the 3 genin in a near blur. Team training and individual training had all of them looking forward to their mandatory day off each week. D rank missions took up 3 afternoons each week with the trio acting more alone than anything else. Jiraiya claimed it was training to be Chunin and to develop leadership of a team but the genin knew that the Toad Sannin was just being lazy. Weeding gardens and catching the infamous Tora hardly phased the team any longer and they finished those kinds of missions quickly and efficiently in order to get back to better things.

Naruto was limited on the time he could put into Rasengan training. Tsunade told him only 2 hours per day training was allowed on the jutsu once Naruto fell asleep during her team instruction. Naruto agreed after spending an afternoon filling in the holes the Slug Sannin had punched into a training field while chasing him around. Jiraiya noticed the slight grin on his teammates face as she chased the boy around but kept that bit of information to himself. These kids were a better medicine for Tsunade's loss than all the sake she had drunk over the years. An added plus was that she was not beating on him for once. Stuck with the 2 hour per day limit, Naruto still managed to get the first stage complete in about 3 weeks. Jiraiya made him pop several more water balloons before he would accept that part was mastered. The second stage training with the rubber ball was taking Naruto much longer to accomplish.

Hinata showed great improvement in her developing Flowing Fist style. Hiashi was impressed in a closed demonstration and approved continued training. Hinata also showed great strides in her Gentle Fist techniques as she performed the 64 strikes a dozen times in succession without flaw. Her confidence level continued to rise as each repetition grew faster and more precise. The approval and smiling face of her father made Hinata's own smile light up the room. Anko had Hinata begin modifying her Arms of the Dancing Asp attack into a defensive kata as well using her Byakugan eyes to cover normal vision's blind spots. Neither teacher nor pupil wanted a repeat of the senbon incident.

Sakura had it roughest physically but being trained by a world class medic meant she did not have the bruises to prove it. Speed and agility training took up most of the time Sakura spent on the practice fields. Each workout left her covered in various colors of paint as Tsunade took almost an Anko level of sadistic glee in tormenting her apprentice. Sakura even managed to avoid all the paint one day only to be greeted the following day by two slugs shooting balls of acid instead of Tsunade alone with balls of paint. Tsunade merely called it moving up to Level 2. Sakura cried many times over the weeks as the acid dissolved many sets of training clothes after that but she continued to slowly improve.

* * *

The team went on a single class C mission during the 3 months. They were assigned to take some reports to the Daimyo at the capital. The team was surprised when all three instructors accompanied them on the simple mission. It took 2 days of walking to get to the capital city. The night in between was spent at a nice hotel along the road. When asked about the mission, Jiraiya explained to the team. "If this mission did not involve leaving the village, it would be a simple class D mission. These are simple reports that the Daimyo wants a few times a year. The most secret thing in the documents is the schedule for the Chunin exams. Since we provide that information to all participating villages; there is no reason for concern of theft. Just relax and enjoy the downtime as we travel."

Once at the capital, the team was ushered into the office of the Daimyo. The late middle aged man who greeted the mall warmly was not what the genin expected. Surprisingly, Jiraiya and Tsunade smiled back at the country's leader just as warmly. "Jiraiya-kun, Tsunade-hime, you both have not changed a bit. Oh my, and Anko-chan, you have grown so much!" Naruto had to stifle a chuckle as Anko blushed lightly. "So, these must be the students that Sarutobi-san is so excited about. Please, introduce these fine genin to me."

Jiraiya pointed to Hinata. "First, we have Hyuuga Hinata. Hiashi's firstborn and Heir to the Hyuuga clan. Next to her is Haruno Sakura, student of Tsunade. The blonde is Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uzumaki?" The Daimyo motioned Jiraiya closer and spoke to him in a whisper. A few words could be heard by the team but nothing could be understood.

" … son … ka … ato … " Jiraiya nodded and spoke in similar tones.

"He … sn't kn … secr …"

Naruto frowned at being talked about and not being able to hear what was being said. Eventually the Daimyo nodded as he understood. He faced the team once more.

Hinata noticed the look on the Daimyo's face as it betrayed his thoughts via body language to her Byakugan eyes. She was nowhere close to the level of the adults of the clan but she could pick up general mood and emotional state. The leader was confused by Naruto's name somehow, apparently expecting it to be different somehow. All she could get beyond his acceptance of Jiraiya's explanation was a single name read from the Daimyo's lips.

Namikaze

"I am pleased to meet all of you. I hope that you all can fulfill the hopes that Sarutobi-san has for all of you. I will be attending the finals of the Chunin Exams tournament in about 6 weeks time and I hope that I will be able to see one or more of you in the finals."

The three genin looked confused for a moment before realizing what the Daimyo had said. They would be in the Chunin Exams as rookies. Naruto grinned his trademark grin and gave the Daimyo a thumbs up. "We are gonna kick butt!!"

The Daimyo laughed loudly at that. 'He has his father's looks but that attitude is purely his mother. The boy will be truly formidable one day.'

The team stayed an extra day in the capital waiting for replies to the documents before returning to Konoha.

* * *

Sasuke was training inside his clan compound. His daily practices were beginning to pay off. He looked down at his hand and the small amount of arcing lightning chakra he had conjured. A dark smile crept across his face.

* * *

The jonin instructors of genin squads for Konoha were gathered in the meeting hall. The nomination process for the Chunin Exams was underway. One by one older squads were put forward or declined entry by their respective senseis. Dozens of older squads had been nominated this year as Konoha was the host. Even marginal squads had been given entry as it would not cost the village anything extra to have them participate like it would in a foreign country. For foreign competitions only the best five squads would be sent. Only two second year squads were nominated. The rookie squads rarely had any nominations but tradition said the Hokage had to give the jonin a chance to nominate their teams. Most teams had not done a class C mission yet and were not qualified to enter.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, do nominate my squad of Uchiha Sasuke, Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba for the Chunin Selection Exams."

This caused a murmur among the gathered jonin. The Uchiha was being entered.

"I, Sarutobi Asuma, do nominate my squad of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji for the Chunin Selection Exams."

The Hokage looked up at his son and saw his serious expression and nodded, accepting the team into the Exams. "Are there any other teams that wish to enter into the current exam?

Jiraiya stood up in the back and said, "I, Jiraiya, the Toad Sage and Sannin, speaking for Senji Tsunade and Mitarashi Anko, do nominate the squad of Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto for the Chunin Selection Exams."

This brought on another bout of murmurs from the jonin. 'Team Apprentice' was also going up as rookies. Never before had 3 teams of rookies been entered into the Chunin Exams. If nothing else, this year would prove to be an interesting test.

* * *

The last week before the exams was the lightest training week Naruto could remember. The physical training in the mornings was just as demanding but the afternoons consisted mainly of reviews and tactical discussions. The team was dismissed earlier than they were used to being finished and ran into a familiar boy playing with his friends.

"Look, its Naruto!" the young girl shouted.

Naruto saw the 3 young Academy students rushing over to his team. He grinned as he had met all 3 in the hospital after the fire.

"Hiya Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon. What are you kids up to? You didn't cut school did you?"

"No way! I can never make Hokage before you if I cut school. We just got out and were playing ninja missions! Hey, who are these girls with you Naruto?" asked Konohamaru. "You have 2 girlfriends?"

Hinata blushed while Sakura got mad and yelled, "We're teammates you lil snot!"

Konohamaru put on a face, "Good thing I guess. Naruto, she gets ugly when she is upset."

"WHAT!?" yelled Sakura. Then she cracked her knuckles and lunged at the boy.

Konohamaru fled as fast as he could with Sakura in pursuit.

A few seconds after the pair rounded the next corner, Naruto heard a thud and shout of pain from Konohamaru and ran up to make sure Sakura did not hurt the boy too much. He was surprised to see Konohamaru lifted off the ground in the grip of a foreign ninja. The boy had on face paint and was wearing a dark outfit with what looked like cat ears on the hood.

"Yo, Max. You want to put the kid down. It might be cool to beat up grade-schoolers out where the wild things are but in Konoha it is frowned upon."

The teenager glared at Naruto. "He ran into me and tried to run off without apologizing. So I am going to teach him a lesson in manners."

Konohamaru was sweating nervously already and stammered out, "I really do apologize, Sir. I was running for my life from a harpy and didn't see you there."

Sakura growled at being called a harpy but the painted boy kept pushing things. "Well, she is ugly enough to be a harpy but that is no excuse kid. It's lesson time." He pulled back a fist.

"Kankuro," a girl's voice said. "Leave the kid alone."

The teen named Kankuro looked behind him to see a girl coming up. "Aw, Temari. I was playing around. I was only going to scare the rugrat."

"You know what Baki said about making trouble in another village. If we get sent home because of you, Gaara will be upset with you for screwing things up."

A wave of malice passed over the group. Everyone looked to see a red headed boy with a beige gourd on his back glaring at everyone.

Kankuro smiled weakly and put down Konohamaru. The boy ran behind Naruto and peeked out from behind the blonde's orange clad leg.

"You are embarrassing us, Kankuro."

"I'm sorry, Gaara. It won't happen again," Kankuro stammered out.

Gaara walked past Kankuro and Temari up to Naruto. "Mother says you are strong, but I don't see it. Are you in the Chunin Exams?"

Naruto stared back at Gaara and could only focus on the redhead's eyes. They were full of hate and malice and his posture dripped killer intent.

"Yes, I am. I assume I will see you there. I am Uzumaki Naruto."

"I am Gaara. I will kill you at the Exams then."

The redhead walked past the Konoha group and did not wait for the other 2 foreign ninja as he turned the corner. Temari and Kankuro hurried after the departing Gaara.

Naruto shuddered a bit and took a deep breath. 'That was a close one.'

* * *

On the night before the first part of the Chunin exams, their teachers invited Naruto, Hinata and Sakura to a dinner with their families. Hinata arrived with her father, Hiashi. Sakura brought her parents Shukei and Sumomo. Naruto was going to go alone until he asked Iruka to go with him. The teacher had kept in touch with the blonde and was delighted to attend. The restaurant was one of the best in the village. Live music was being played softly and a small stage had been curtained off in the private area they were dining in..

Naruto was not fond of the food and really wanted ramen but ate without complaint. Iruka had sat between Naruto and Anko and was pleased to 'talk shop' with an old classmate. They had known each other as children before Anko became apprenticed to Orochimaru. They had known each other professionally after that but never had much of a chance to rebuild that friendship as their duties kept them busy.

Sumomo was dominating conversation at her end of the table. Shukei merely nodded at the appropriate times and kept drinking sake. He managed to match Tsunade bowl for bowl all evening. On her part, Tsunade was glad for the sake as well as someone else drinking so much. She figured with a wife like that, he was an old hand at it. It bothered her to think that this harpy was distantly related to her by blood but was very glad Sensei had kept that information secret. She was also glad that Sakura had been seated between them or the woman would be dead. Jiraiya only tried to think of a way to incorporate the entire scene into on of his books. His idea included the death of the foul woman.

Shortly after the main course had been finished Anko rose and led off Hinata. Tsunade and Jiraiya knew what was happening but merely smiled. After about 20 minutes, they returned in formal kimonos and stepped up onto the stage. A pair of waiters followed and pulled back the curtains revealing a pair of tea services. Anko and Hinata both began moving in unison as they both went through the tea ceremony for the gathered family and friends. Both moved flawlessly and with confidence for the duration of the preparations. When the time to serve tea arrived, Hinata presented to her father as most honored guest while Anko presented to Iruka. She had planned on using Tsunade but somehow it felt right to have Iruka fill that place tonight. After everyone had been served and everything admired and put away, the teacher and student returned to their seats with compliments from all guests.

Naruto had been mesmerized the entire ceremony. He had never seen one before and could not tear his eyes from how graceful Hinata seemed. He had been afraid when the girls approached with the tea that one would come up to him and almost sighed in relief when both passed him by. When his turn had arrived, he had just mimicked what the ones before him had done.

With things winding down, Jiraiya stopped and had everyone brought a bowl of sake. The teens had much smaller ones with a token amount. "A toast, to tomorrow and a successful exam for our students. Know that your teachers are proud of you." Everyone drank and then the party broke up.

Hiashi walked home slowly in silence with Hinata beside him. In the silence, she feared something was wrong until he stopped shortly before the entrance to their compound. He faced her with a smile on his face.

"Daughter, you have earned the respect of your teachers and teammates. You performed the tea ceremony in a flawless manner that your mother would have been pleased to see. You have made me very proud tonight. Well done."

Hinata only blushed lightly and bowed. "Thank you, Father. I had good teachers."

* * *

Next Chapter: The Chunin Exams

* * *

End Notes: There were a lot of things I originally planned on putting in this chapter. I ended up trashing a good amount of material each time I came back on my proof reading a few days later. Nothing seemed to fit what I had wanted. Writer's block is so frustrating. You think you are going along well and come back later to think it is all crap. One sequence I wrote ended up being saved for a later chapter so not all is a loss. I should be getting back to weekly updates again with things less hectic until summer really gets here.

Somehow, I kind of miss Narutomaniac and his near flames of my work. I honestly do not mind bad reviews along with the good ones as long as they are honest and constructive. Things that make me think about what I am writing always seem to bring out my best stuff instead of simply cranking out more words to fill space. I had to even go back and re read the entire story before I proofread this chapter to make sure it held up to things I had written previously. I was satisfied with it.

Review Notes: Not much was brought up about my story in the chapter 15 reviews. So only a few points to make.

To the anonymus reviewer, There had to have been more than 1 classroom of students in the Academy. If there are thousands of ninja in a village, only having 9 genin in a year or a single classroom full of about 30 graduate would not even cover the deaths we see in the manga and anime. Most of the other ninja of Konoha occur off panel.

Lyra, um, Sakura is going to do more than cry soon.


	17. Exam, Forest, and Preliminaries

A cheer and a raspberry to all yaoi fans, Naruto is officially NOT GAY. See Shippuden episode 57

**The Chunin Exams**

The sun shone through the window down onto Naruto's face. He could not remember the last time he had gotten to sleep in on a 'work day'. It was only 8 am but to him it felt like he had gotten to sleep until noon. Slowly, he crawled out of the warm bed and walked into his kitchen to see about breakfast. He shook the teakettle to see if he had enough water in it and was pleased that he did not need more. He turned on the burner and looked into his refrigerator while the water heated. He pulled out an apple and casually munched on it as he turned to a cabinet to pull out one of his special ramen cups. Iruka had given him a case on his last birthday and Naruto saved those for special occasions. Today was certainly one day worthy of being special. In a few hours, he would begin the next step on his road to being Hokage. The Chunin Exams.

* * *

Hinata had gotten up at her usual time in spite of not needing to train normally today. She got into workout clothes and proceeded to the private grounds the Head Family used. She stood in the grass there and just looked for a few minutes. It was here that her change had truly begun; on the morning her family had almost been destroyed. Her eyes fell on the spot where the flash bang had disabled her father and sister. They shifted to the spot where she had been at that moment and where she had killed for the first time. It only bothered her in the context of having done it. She felt no remorse for the act at the time or now. The man had threatened her family and herself with death. He received what he intended for others. She learned that she was capable of anger and hatred but controlled the emotions to serve her own needs rather than surrender to the negative power. She had come far from being that scared girl in the time since that moment. Smiling, she turned and went to prepare for meeting her team.

* * *

Sakura stretch as the alarm sounded. She shut it off only to hear a light knock at her door a minute later. She made sure her nightgown was in place before going to open the door. Her father was waiting on the other side.

"Good morning Sakura. I hope you slept well."

"Yup Dad. Um, shouldn't you be at work already?"

"I told my boss I would be in late today. It is not everyday your child goes to their first Chunin Exam." Shukei smiled softly down at his daughter. "Besides, I have a small gift for you."

Sakura's eyes lit up at the word gift. "Oooo, what did you get me, Dad?"

Shukei blushed a bit. "Well, it is not a regular gift. But I thought you might be able to find a use for this." He pulled a sheathed kunai from behind his back and handed it to Sakura.

Sakura was surprised by the size and weight of the knife. Most kunai were intended for throwing and to be disposable. The one was meant more for holding on to and being used in hand-to-hand combat. She slowly pulled it from the sheath and saw it was actually a lot older than most but it was well cared for. It was in a style not made in a long time. Not since the early days of the Third Ninja War. She looked up at her father puzzled.

"Well, remember how I said I tried out for the Academy when I was your age? I had gotten it then to practice with before tryouts. I never really got the hang of using it but I held onto it after failing. I … I figured I could keep something from my dreams. Your mother would have kittens if she knew I had this old thing. I pull it out every once in a while to make sure it is still in good shape."

"I know I am not the best dad around, Sakura. I do work very hard at what I do for you and your mother. Watching your dreams come true is what I set my mind to do when you were born. A father hopes of many things for their children and I hope something I once dreamed of can go with you and help with yours. Be successful today, Sakura. I am already so proud of you."

Sakura was teary-eyed listening to her father. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek before hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Daddy. For everything. I'll be proud to take this with me."

* * *

The team met in the old hideout an hour before they were scheduled to arrive at the exam site. They all grinned at one another as they went over their plans. Their teachers could not tell them what the exam would contain but they had been warned to treat it like it was a long-term class B mission. That meant a certain amount of preparation. They were wearing their 'home clothes' to make others think they were less prepared than they actually were. Naruto and Hinata took along their storage scrolls with their armor and extra supplies inside. Sakura brought along her over-sized combination shuriken pouch / first aid kit stocked with bandages and emergency items like food pills and anti venoms. She found a place for her father's knife along the top of the bag itself. The trio all nodded and set off for the school where they were told to meet.

"You ever been to room 301 before? It is not one that I remember," Naruto asked.

"No. It was on the Third Floor, that is where only the teachers go," Sakura replied.

The trio filed in the front door and headed up the stairs. Just down the hallway they spotted a small crowd of genin. The sign over the door read '301' but a pair of large teenage boys barred the door. This would not have bothered the team but in front of them was a strange looking genin in a dark green unitard and orange legwarmers. He sported a bowl cut on his head but his most disturbing feature was the large bushy eyebrows over wide eyes.

"We must get in to take our exam! We are supposed to be here!"

One of the older teens laughed, "Well, if you want to get in here, you need to get past us."

Naruto paused as he was confused. 'Wasn't 301 supposed to be on the third floor?'

Sakura and Hinata tugged on his shirt as he started toward the marked room. He looked back at his teammates.

"We need to go to the third floor, Naruto. I guess the exam is already starting," Sakura told him.

Hinata saw the confused look on Naruto's face and leaned over to whisper in his ear, "Genjutsu."

Naruto suddenly understood and followed the girls up to the next level.

He paused on the stairs once they were out of sight of the illusion. Naruto grinned in pure prankster mode and formed a ram seal with his hands. He focused and whispered, "Kai," and disrupted the illusion on the floor below. The pair of 'teenagers' were revealed to be adult chunin to the genin gathered around the door. Killer intent flared in the hallway as the pair backed up wondering who had nullified their illusion. One thought, 'This is going to hurt,' as the crowd closed in on them.

Naruto laughed as he followed the girls into the real room 301.

The motley assortment of people filling the room was striking to Naruto. He recalled what Jiraiya had briefed them on.

"_The people you need to worry about will not be the Konoha ninja. A good deal of the genin from the Leaf are at the same or a lower level than you. The ones who are truly dangerous are the foreign ones. Villages do not send weak genin to an exam out of their own country. They send teams who are all but chunin already. Most will have years of experience at being ninja that you do not. Other villages have different standards on what makes a chunin. For some, it is pure power. Others rely on specific jutsu that their villages specialize in. But as a rule, they will be older, stronger physically and have a wider range of jutsu than you will. Always watch your back and remember, the nail that sticks out does not get treated well, it gets hammered down, Hard."_

Naruto pointed off to a clear spot near one wall and the girls made their way over there. Within minutes Team 10 joined them.

Ino gave Sakura a slight nod and a smile, "Looking like a real ninja now, Forehead?"

"One of us has to, Piggy. Good to see you here." The girls stood silently after that.

A few minutes later, Team 7 wandered over. Kiba looked amused and Sasuke looked a bit ruffled. Shino nodded to the people already standing there and merely kept quiet. Naruto smirked as the same idea had occurred to all of them, there is safety in numbers and having friends close could be useful.

"Oy, look at the baby brigade all huddled together. Konoha must be scraping the bottom of the barrel if they send fresh meat like these kids," a Rain genin taunted.

"More like they saw the competition coming from other places this year and decided to unleash the best on you," Kiba retorted.

The Rain genin sneered, "If you are the best, Konoha will not be in the top 5 for long then."

The laughter this generated was enough set off some older Leaf genin who took issue with that insult and drew attention away from the rookies.

A white haired boy with glasses and a Leaf headband approached the three teams, "You would do well not to draw so much attention to yourselves. There is a very dangerous crowd this year and newbies like you will be seen as easy pickings."

Naruto looked up at the taller teen, "We will keep that in mind."

The white haired boy chuckled and held up a small card. "Uzumaki Naruto, genin, First time participant, Notable jutsu, None but rumored to possess several of high level. Student of Jiraiya, the Toad Sage. Missions completed, class B -1, class C -1, class D, well those are unimportant."

Naruto smirked, "Well, now we both know who I am. Who are you?"

"Yakushi Kabuto. Medic and finder of information."

"That B rank was not really public information, Kabuto."

"People talk Naruto-kun, I listen. You would be amazed what you can find out if you listen in the right places. Anyone you need info on?"

Naruto thought for a minute. "Gaara of the Sand."

Sasuke spoke up now, "Also Rock Lee from here."

"Interesting. Rock Lee is easier so him first. First Exam, student of Might Gai, superior taijutsu, no known nin or genjutsu. A note about his chakra being too low to utilize either. Gaara of the Sand Village, No information other than 1 B rank and 8 C rank with no injuries. Sand manipulation jutsu."

A team pushed past the 9 rookies and Kabuto. No one recognized the headbands they wore until Kabuto mentioned it, "Sound ninja. They are from a new village in the Rice Country."

"Don't talk about us behind our backs," growled the apparent leader of the team.

Kabuto just smiled and was about to speak when a voice sounded out over the din, "ALL RIGHT YOU MAGGOTS, FIND YOUR SEATS. THEY ARE MARKED. MOVE IT!!"

The assembled genin all moved to the desks to find their seats. Within minutes all were seated. A few empty seats were scattered around the room, indicating the teams that had fallen for the genjutsu downstairs and were still waiting there.

"I am Morino Ibiki. I am the main proctor for the first part of this Chunin Selection Exam. Around the room, you can see my assistants." Various people around the room began placing papers on the desks before the genin. "We will begin with a written exam that will test your ability to answer questions a chunin should be able to. It will be a 10 question test with each person starting with a total of 10 points. Wrong answers will result in the loss of a point. People who are caught cheating will lose 2 points from their total of 10. If you lose all of your points, you fail. If you are all truly ninja, this should not be a problem. You will have 1 hour total for this test but the final question will not be given until 15 minutes prior to the end of the test."

"Why, Sir?" asked a Waterfall ninja.

"Because I said so. You may begin, now"

Naruto gulped and turned the paper over. He was terrible at written tests. He did what Iruka always told him and read over the entire test before attempting to do anything. 'Whoa, these are HARD questions. This stuff is way past anything even Tsunade taught us. Something else is going on here.' Naruto kept his head facing the paper but he began to glance around him. Small motions from the proctors caught his notice. They were taking notes and watching from the sides. Most of the proctors seemed to be writing quickly.

Suddenly one stood up and yelled, "Number 87, you fail. Your teammates fail as well. Leave the room, now." Three genin rose and had their papers taken away. One of the genin smacked number 87 on the back of the head and muttered, "Idiot."

'So people are cheating here. But he said if you get caught you lose points. People are risking a lot if they cheat.' Naruto glumly looked down at his blank page and kept thinking

Sakura was a few rows behind Naruto and noticed he had not written anything yet. She was having trouble with the questions but managed to answer more than a few. She was certain she would pass.

Hinata was baffled by most of these questions. She had no trouble with the cipher. Her family taught her young about those. The red headed boy from the Sand was next to her. She noticed that he was using a jutsu with his sand to look around the room. 'Of course, he said if we are ninja we should have no problem. We are expected to cheat and they are looking for people who are lousy at it. That is why we have multiple chances to cheat if we get caught. Mess up too much in the field and it will be noticed that you are spying but one or two might not be enough to raise suspicions. Looking down at her paper, she muttered "Byakugan" activating her blood limit. Everything around her came into vision as her blood limit did its work. She glanced over most of the papers before finding one with what appeared to be all correct answers. She began copying those answers to her paper. One proctor made a mark against her for cheating but that was all. She was confident she would pass. 'Naruto might have a problem unless he figures this out soon. His page is still blank.'

It was already 30 minutes into the test and Naruto still looked down at his blank paper. In the corner of his eye, he caught some movement. A Leaf girl with buns that looked like panda ears was manipulating something with one hand and writing with the other. She was cheating! He waited an entire minute for her to be called out as failing but nothing happened. It confused Naruto. She was cheating but was not being tossed out. 'Well, if she can cheat and get away with it, then so can I. This will take a lot of chakra without using hand signs but I think I can pull this off.' Naruto looked intently on the proctor, Morino Ibiki. He focused on the man's entire body, clothes and look on his face. He built up a complete mental picture of the man and thought in his head, kage henge no jutsu, Shadow Transformation. Smoke puffed up in many parts of the room to reveal nearly 30 copies of Morino Ibiki.

Everyone was stunned as they began picking up papers from genin and looking them over, making comments about each one picked up. The real Ibiki lifted his hand to stop the assistant proctors from acting and he grinned evilly. 'Someone in here is smarter than they look. No one made a hand sign and no one can tell who the clones are because they all popped in looking like me. Let's see who they do NOT mess with. That should be our culprit.'

The clones roamed around the room, mocking and taunting every genin and taking the papers to look at. Finally one stopped at Naruto.

"Oh. Look at this little genin. His paper is still blank!" The clone began laughing as a second one came over and looked. "Come on blondie, you don't think you are going to pass like that, do you?"

Naruto just said, "Gimmie that!" and grabbed back his paper.

Another minute of mocking went by and the clones began to disappear in puffs of smoke. Naruto continued to grumble but picked up his pencil and began to sloppily write in answers to the test question as the correct answers floated inside his cranium.

Motino Ibiki was impressed. The whole disturbance had taken a couple of minutes but no one was obviously the cheater. 'Very good, a ninja worth passing.' Proctors kept calling out numbers as those who tried to benefit from the confusion but got caught in the process.

Naruto had filled in 5 answers before Ibiki announced it was time for the 10th question.

Ibiki spoke in dark tones, "Anyone who takes this last question and gets it wrong will never become a chunin. Luckily for those of you who are not willing to gamble that may request to leave now. It took a minute of tense silence before the first hand rose. Numbers were called out and teams dismissed as more felt they could not risk it.

Naruto gave off a head splitting yawn. Ibiki got pissed at that, "What is wrong with you, genin? This is your career on the line."

"Meh, Anko-sensei plays better mind games than that. Without the snakes poised to bite me, yours seems a little lame."

Chuckles rose around the room as the tension Ibiki had worked so hard to create shattered. 'I should have known Anko would teach that team she is with about mind games. Well, I am not going to get anymore to back out now.'

"Well, in that case, everyone still here; passes."

Ibiki explained his mind game to the incredulous genin and shrugged off anything they said.

A tree appeared from the wooden floor beside him and a red eyed, black haired woman in a jonin vest stepped into view.

"I am Yuuhi Kurenai. I will be the proctor for the Second Test of the Chunin Selection Exams. The 75 of you remaining will come with me to Training Area 44, the Forest of Death."

* * *

As the group traveled to Area 44, Naruto joined up with Hinata and Sakura. Hinata smiled at Naruto and took his hand asking, "Those were your clones, weren't they Naruto?"

"Yup. I had to make them come out transformed into the scary dude or they would have known it was me."

"What about those 2 making fun of you?" Sakura asked.

I had to make it look like I was not immune to the thing. If I had been the only person they didn't mess with I would have been spotted." Naruto grinned like he had just pulled off a master prank. "Me and Hinata had a mission once, I just sat in front of the clan compound for hours doing absolutely nothing. All their guards were watching me. Meanwhile, Hinata snuck in the back and pulled the prank. If you give someone what they expect to see, they will not notice the things they are not expecting."

Sakura just shook her head, "Hinata, you are a bad influence on this boy. HE said something that actually sounded intelligent."

Hinata blushed lightly and squeezed Naruto's hand.

The assembled genin stood before the gates of Training Area 44. Trees, larger and more menacing than the ones surrounding Konoha, loomed high overhead. The whole place gave off a feeling of foreboding. Even the sounds of birds were muted in the area, as if they were afraid as well. Rumors about this forest had circulated since it was created after the treason of Uchiha Madara. The most popular was that the First had created it in a fit of rage after the battle near Rice Country. Since those days, the forest was confined by a large fence littered with seals to keep the malevolence ingrained in the Forest confined. All manner of creatures were drawn into the region and seemed to change to suit the land. Leeches grew large enough to drain a man in minutes. Insects flourished and changed into more poisonous types. The whole area felt oppressive.

Many genin were daunted by the simple feeling of standing next to this place. More than one was glad they had paused to use a restroom knowing they would have soiled themselves otherwise. After allowing the genin to stare for several minutes, Kurenai spoke up.

"The second part of this Chunin Exam will be very simple. Each team will be issued a scroll. Either a Heaven or an Earth scroll." Kurenai displayed the two types she mentioned. "The object will be to get to the tower in the center of the Forest with one of each type. As there are an odd number of teams, we will be issuing an extra scroll to a random team." Kurenai held up another scroll resembling a fused version of the first two. "This one is basically a wild card. It will pair with either a Heaven or an Earth scroll."

"Mission time will be 120 hours. Those who do not reach the Tower within that time will forfeit. All members of a team must survive to reach the Tower in order to advance to the next stage of these Exams. If you leave the Forest, you are disqualified. You can quit the Exam at any time simply by leaving the Forest. Patrols will be monitoring the edges for dropouts."

"120 hours!" Choji cried out. "What will we do for food, or if we need to rest?"

Kurenai looked at Choji with an icy stare. "All team jonin sensei were instructed to have their genin show up for the Exams ready for a B class mission. If you showed up unprepared, it is not our concern."

"There is one last item of business before we begin. All participants must sign a waiver stating that they go into this mission willingly. It releases Konoha from any liability if you die. A team must turn in 3 waivers to obtain a scroll to participate."

Naruto looked down at his orange jumpsuit and frowned. He was not dressed properly for this type of mission. He began to pull out his storage scroll but Sakura stopped him. "Wait until we get into the forest, Naruto. We can all change inside so our opponents will think we are going in stupid. Remember what you said about giving them what they expect to see?"

Naruto thought for a moment before nodding, "Thanks Sakura, good thinking."

Hinata nodded as well and put away the scroll she had begun pulling out.

The team turned in their waivers and got a Heaven scroll.

Team 7 got an Earth scroll while Team 10 was lucky and got the sole 'wild' scroll.

* * *

Shortly, the team was taken to a random gate by an examiner. Hinata squeezed Naruto's hand once more before all three focused their thoughts into 'mission mode'. Personal feeling were safely locked away as they went from Naruto, Hinata and Sakura to being Fox, Rabbit and Blossom (Kitsune, Usagi, Hana)

The chunin examiner opened the gate and watched the team sprint into the forest. He shuddered less from the feeling the forest made than from the coldness that seemed to spring from the trio of genin. He locked the gate behind them and hoped he would never have to face those three in battle.

The team only went in about a quarter of a mile before they stopped and pulled out their storage scrolls. One at a time they got into their mission gear and armor. Once they completed the task and sealed away their normal clothing, Naruto created a trio of shadow clones in their traditional outfits. The team in their dark clothing jumped into the branches and blended into the shadows as the clones kept to the ground and headed toward the Tower at the center.

It was several hours before the team found a trace of another team. It was the sound of animals eating something that drew them to it. The pulped remains of a genin team lay in a trio of piles that some giant tigers were snacking on. Hinata turned green and bent over to vomit in the bushes nearby. Naruto just stared and the team quickly left the area. The sand mixed in with the remains had told him enough. The killers used sand as a weapon. Gaara had been here.

Within an hour, the team had the central tower in sight. They paused a few minutes to rest and make plans. They decided on having the trio of transformed clones play stalking horse in a poorly laid ambush and then spring the second one when the clones get attacked. The trio settled down to wait.

There was very little happening for the team as they waited. There was a strong feeling off in one direction that came through the overall feeling of dread the forest produced. It was like some evil was active but a good distance away. Naruto wanted to go check things out but Sakura just bopped him on the head and reminded him they were in an exam and could not simply investigate strange things like kids.

It was nearly sunset before Hinata spotted someone approaching. A team from Waterfall was making its way down the riverbank. She signaled Naruto and Sakura to be ready as the Waterfall ninja spotted the poorly hidden clones. It took only a few minutes for the clones to get captured and held. All the clones had feigned surprise and surrendered without being hit so none were dispelled. The clone Naruto pulled out a clone scroll and was handing it over when the trap was sprung. The Leaf team landed silently behind their foes and 3 disabling hits took down the Waterfall ninja.

"Crap, it's a Heaven scroll," Naruto muttered as they moved to a new location. The girls were just as depressed over getting the wrong scroll but the ambush had gone easier than they had hoped. Naruto being able to produce solid clones gave them an advantage in setting traps. Since the clones could be touched, the foreign ninja assumed they were real people.

"We will need to rest soon. It has been a long day," Hinata commented. Sakura and Naruto agreed and the team scouted for a place to rest for the night. They made a second grisly discovery near the river. A pair of genin crushed in the same manner as the Rain team. All that could be recognized were 2 Leaf headbands and some round sunglasses. The local animals had ravaged the remains and the weapons were scattered in the bushes. An Earth scroll covered in gore lay there as well.

"Ok, this is really creeping me out," Naruto said. "This Sand team is really bloodthirsty. They just killed these guys and just left the bodies alone. They did not even search them and left good weapons and a scroll behind." Naruto scraped some of the gore off the scroll with a kunai as he rolled it in the dirt. Once he got it mostly clean, he picked it up and looked at the girls.

"These guys are on a line from the Rain team to the Tower. The Sand ninja must have been going straight there and these two must have simply been in their way," Sakura commented. Her voice betrayed a small amount of fear. Hinata just nodded, her eyes showing a bit of fear as well.

"We should just make a break for the Tower now. It might be better to be there than out here for the night. It will be completely dark when we get there but I think it would be better," Sakura said.

"Wait," Naruto said. "We should wait and rest for a few hours before we go. It will make it easier and we will be more alert. Hinata and me did most of the pranks at night because people watching are at their worst in the late hours after midnight. Hinata said it has been a long day and all the other genin will be resting as well. We should have less of a problem after midnight."

Sakura was amazed at the rational thinking of Naruto. His argument was well thought out and tactically sound. What happened to the idiot that failed two times at the Academy? Six months of working together had shown her that while he was an idiot in many ways within certain areas he was a near genius. The year of pranks for the Hokage he kept referring back to had made him grow up a lot but in his core he remained an adorable idiot prankster.

After a few long minutes of thought, Sakura agreed. Hinata had nodded almost immediately with Naruto's plan. The small Hyuuga did not trust her voice after seeing 2 teams destroyed like they had been and their remains tossed aside like trash. She did not want to speak much as she was sure her stutter would return if she did before she could get a grip on things.

The team rested about 6 hours. They kept watch in shifts and got ready to move out about 2 hours past midnight. For all their preparations, they were glad they had no trouble getting to the Tower and entering. Hinata deciphered the message and shortly they were being led deeper into the Tower by a chunin with a bandage across his nose. He showed them to a room and left them there. They were the third team to arrive. The Sand team had broken the record time for the exam and surprisingly Team 10 had finished around sunset. Ino / Shika / Cho was more formidable than the apprentices had thought. The fact that they had had the 'wild' scroll meant they only needed to find a single team to defeat and would advance had helped.

The news they had was bad. Team 10 had seen the sole team from the Sound maiming members of other teams in sadistic fashion. At least 4 other teams had been forced to quit due to injuries. Naruto shook his head and told Shikamaru about the 2 teams they had found. Already 6 teams out of 25 were already known to be out. Three more had finished the test. After not even a day had passed meant there would be a lot more happening out in the forest during the next four days.

One more team arrived the following day. The genin from the Sound strutted into the central waiting area and dumped several scrolls onto the floor along with a small pile of headbands. Rain, Leaf and Waterfall were the only ones Naruto saw before he turned away in disgust. There had only been one Waterfall team in the forest. These bastards had killed them for no reason.

It was the fourth day when another Leaf team finished, Team Gai. 'Bushy Brows, Panda Chan and Ice Boy' were the mental nicknames Naruto gave the trio. The only spot of good news was that chunin patrolling the forest had found many injured genin along the edges of the forest. Most had been missing their headbands. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief when one was found to be the Waterfall team. They might never be ninja again but at least they were alive. Outside of the teams crushed by Sand, there were remarkably few fatalities.

Team 7 arrived only an hour before the exam officially ended. The silver haired Kabuto was with them. It was his team that had been crushed and he apparently hooked up with Team 7 for safety. Kiba and Akamaru were both battered and bruised. The puppy seemed to be favoring one paw. Shino was dirty but maintained his normal attitude. The only outward sign of him not being well was a loud buzzing that came from him when anyone approached the boy. Sasuke was worst off and kept rubbing at a bandage on his neck. The Uchiha was pale and twitchy but his face held its normal 'I don't care about anyone else' look.

The six teams lined up before the assembled examiners and team sensei. Naruto barely listened as the Hokage spoke of the meaning of the Chunin Exams. He could feel hate rolling off the Uchiha standing next to him. He could not place the feeling but it was similar to the one in the forest a few days before. His attention was drawn back to the Hokage when it was announced there would be a preliminary round to the finals

Sasuke stood ignoring with all these losers around him. The Hokage was the only one worth listening to, at least for now. He winced as his shoulder throbbed again. Even though it pained him, a rush of power seemed to flow out of it afterwards. That Orochimaru had done something to him, but getting more power out of the bargain seemed like a benefit right now. The blonde dobe next to him kept looking but Sasuke ignored him. The boy was not worth his time. Soon, he would put the Loser in his place again, just like before. Thoughts of pain and torture of the blonde brought another throb from his shoulder but this time it felt good. It was almost like approval. Sasuke smiled as the first pair of genin was announced to fight a preliminary. He walked to the balcony and waited. Soon, it would be his turn.

The first match was announced. Yamanaka Ino against Kankuro. The remaining 16 genin were sent up to a balcony to watch with their teachers and wait their turn. The referee named Hayate Gekkou stood between them.

"The match will go on until I determine there is a winner or one of you dies. If I tell you to stop fighting, you will stop. Continuing after a command to stop will have dire consequences."

The teens faced each other. Kankuro looked at Ino and just laughed

"I get to face a little girl? Geez, even the midget blonde up there would give me a better fight than this girl. I mean she does have a nice rack for her age but I wanted a challenge."

Ino was enraged at being both dismissed and insulted. She rushed at Kankuro who still stood laighing with his arms crossed and gave him a hard side kick that sent him flying backwards. The wrapped bundle on his back fell to the floor as the Sand ninja rolled to a stop.

"I am not going to get insulted by a boy with no fashion sense wearing a cat costume and makeup. I'll have your lame butt groveling in a minute," Ino yelled. She saw the Sand ninja was slow to get up so she went for her main attack. Her hand went into a strange sign in front of her face, "Mind Transfer Jutsu!" In a moment, Ino fell limp to her knees as Kankuro stopped moving. Neither moved for a few seconds until a laugh sounded form the bundle Kankuro had dropped. The wrappings fell away to reveal a second Kankuro.

On the balcony, Shikamaru shook his head and commented, "Troublesome. A puppet user. Ino lost." The other genin looked at him as Asuma nodded, "She had a good idea but the wrong target."

"What happened?" Naruto yelled. "Why did she just collapse like that?"

Shikamaru grumbled but answered, "Ino's family uses mind jutsu to control their enemies. She would have had control of the Sand ninja if she had picked the right target. The Sand ninja hid as the puppet and his puppet disguised as himself. Ino sent her attack and her mind at the puppet. It will be several minutes before she wakes up back in her body since her attack missed a living mind."

Hayate saw Kankuro stand over Ino's motionless form and nodded. "Winner, Kankuro of the Desert."

Asuma jumped down and picked up Ino to carry her to the balcony until her jutsu wore off. "Still, she had a sound idea. If she had been on target she would have won. The Sand kid looked fairly mindless." Shikamaru nodded slowly as the rest of the Leaf genin chuckled.

The next match was shown on the display Aburame Shino vs. Abumi Zaku.

Shino stood facing the Sound ninja. His kikai bugs were nervous. The emanations from the foreign ninja disturbed his colony. This would not be an easy battle. Too many of his bugs were young and lacked battle experience. The few that remained before the Wave could not aid the newer ones effectively. Such was the result of the near destruction of his colony and receiving an additional one from the clan. The two colonies got along well enough but they were not cohesive unit even months after the implant. The newer colony needed more direction than the older one and made several clan jutsu more difficult. But Shino was like his insects; he adapted to new circumstances.

Zaku performed what looked like a wind jutsu and shot a blast of air and sound at Shino. Shino jumped away and circled around Zaku. The Sound ninja tracked the bug user constantly pointing his hands at Shino. Shino launched a wave of bugs at Zaku only to have them dispersed by another blast of compressed air. Shino noticed the small holes in the hands of Zaku now and understood. He gave a mental command to his older colony and let them fly. The smaller swarm was dispersed like the first had been but began to circle the area instead of returning directly to Shino.

"You have an interesting weapon in those hands of yours," Shino noted.

Zaku chuckled, "Jealous? I am one of the elite genin of my village. Only a few get to see what I can do. You are fortunate that you get to face me. You get to die knowing you face of a superior ninja."

"Interesting. But your prosthetics do not make you a superior ninja. Only skill can do that." Shino had his newer colony swarm behind him as he spoke. The air around the pair cleared as the kikai formed a cloud behind him.

Zaku was keeping an eye on it as Shino spoke to him. He was confident this Leaf ninja had no chance against him. He was elite. Orochimaru himself had said so.

Shino lifted his arms to direct the swarm behind him. Zaku lifted his in response and filled his arms with chakra to power the air tubes in his arms. The swarm moved to Zaku and in turn he fired. Then he screamed in pain as his arms exploded. He fell in pain as he saw his shattered arms in pieces around him. Kikai bugs were feasting on the residual chakra before returning to Shino.

Hayate looked stunned as the Sound genin writhed in pain on the floor, "Medic!!" he cried out. The medics quickly closed on the Sound ninja and carried him and the pieces of his arms to the infirmary. "Um … winner, Aburame Shino."

Shino headed for the balcony as the next match was announced, Tenten vs. Temari of the Desert.

Naruto was waiting for Shino as the bug user returned. "How did you manage that one Shino?"

"He was overconfident, Naruto. I had both of my colonies circle around him. The older insects that survived the Wave need less direct control and can be given multiple orders at once. I had both colonies circle around him but only the younger one returned to form around me. I instructed the older one to move into his blind spot and infiltrate his air channels and clog them. The intent was to merely disable them but as you can see, it was more spectacular than that. However, given the actions of his team earlier, I feel the damage is justified and appropriate."

The genin were stunned by both the tactics used as with the long oration by Shino. Most had never heard him speak so much in a month.

By the time Shino finished his explanation, Temari had soundly defeated Tenten. The weapon user was bent backwards over the battle fan and tossed aside like a rag doll. Lee sped down and caught his teammate giving the fan mistress a glare.

The next match was posted, Rock Lee vs. Akimichi Choji.

Lee handed off Tenten to the medics who took her to the infirmary to check her spine. He saw Choji approaching and bowed to the chubby ninja. "Yosh, let our flames of youth burn brightly in this battle, Choji-san"

Choji just looked at Lee. He had seen the older genin around town and was disturbed by his appearance, "Um, yeah, right, burn."

Lee held up a fist to Choji who smiled as they knocked fists in a salute. Both then waited for the signal to start.

"Begin," said Hayate.

Lee rushed forward and kicked Choji under the chin. The larger ninja was surprised at the speed and strength of the green clad boy. Lee jumped after Choji loosening the wraps on his hands.

Choji was used to being hit. It was a trait of Akimichi to be able to take hits and respond quickly in response. "Multisize jutsu!" Choji's arm and fist grew in size as he flew backwards. He swung as Lee came into range and backhanded Lee away. The spandex clad boy hit the ground hard and bounced into the wall. Choji managed to control his fall and rolled to his feet as Lee shook off the hit he had taken.

"Yosh, the flames of youth burn brightly in you Choji-san. I will not let up on you. This will be a grand battle."

Lee moved to fast to see to Choji again and kicked him from behind this time. Choji again had to react in the air. He make a seal and shouted, "Meat Tank" His body grew larger and morphed into a ball and he began rolling. Choji landed, got traction and turned back towards Lee. Lee sidestepped the rolling Choji and began making hits against the larger boy. Choji rolled around again and missed the dodging lee only to absorb another half dozen solid blows. Choji rolled into the wall this time and collapsed back into his normal form, breathing heavily. His face and hands all showed bruising as Lee had made strikes in the most vulnerable spots on Choji.

The Akimichi tried to make a hand sign only to grunt in pain as at least 2 bones in his hand had been fractured. He could not make hand signs now.

Lee called out, "I know you are injured Choji-san. I have no desire to harm you any further but I will if I must. Please surrender this battle."

Choji paused. He did not want to surrender but with a wounded hand he could not use his family jutsu. Lee had a few lumps but was basically unhurt. Pride swelled up in Choji as he thought about his family's special food pills but even those would not fix his hand. 'This is only a test to see if I am good enough to be chunin. I could fight on and be hurt more for nothing. There will be other tests.' "All right, you win. I can't keep up to you and a broken hand puts me at a larger disadvantage. We will fight again another day, Lee."

"Winner, Rock Lee," Hayate said.

Lee and Choji walked toward the balcony together. Asuma waited for Choji by the stairs. "Good job Choji. I know quitting was not something you wanted to do. I could see you fight against it. But listen to me, backing out when you are hurt in this kind of match is exactly the right choice to make. In truth, for Konoha ninja, it is something that marks one as being close to chunin than a person who fights just to save pride."

Choji thought for a moment then nodded. "I had better get this hand looked at. I am going to be out of action for a few weeks. When I am ready, can we train some more? I could have done much better with my taijutsu there."

Asuma nodded but frowned when he heard the next match called, Hyuuga Neji vs. Hyuuga Hinata.

Hinata made her way down to the floor. Neji simply leaped down to avoid using the stairs with Hinata. The pair faced off in front of Hayate. Hinata took a simple ready position while Neji stood there glaring at the younger girl. Both activated their clan bloodline and looked at each other.

"It seems Fate has brought us together, Hinata-sama. But it has also written that you will lose this battle. Give up now before you get hurt," Neji said in a cold voice.

Hinata stood silently in her ready stance.

"Even now I can see the flaws in your stance, Hinata-sama. Your weight is not in proper balance for Gentle Fist. (Juuken) Your arms are not in the right positions either."

Hinata took two steps backwards and just relaxed then stood there, watching Neji. "You are now having second thought about this match, at last Hinata-sama. I knew you were weak but you do not deserve to be in the Main House with such weakness. All your special training has been wasted I see."

Hinata finally moved. She made a large exaggerated yawn stretched a bit. She then pulled a senbon from out of her weapons holster and began cleaning out from under her fingernails.

Everyone in the balcony was taken aback by Hinata's actions except for one, her sensei, Anko.

Anko remembered the advice she had given Hinata earlier that month.

"_No matter who you get into fights with, you will be smaller than they are. You are physically the smallest ninja in Konoha, Hinata. They will try to intimidate you and think their size gives them power over you. Intimidation has won more fights for ninja than skill. Ninja hate having to waste energy when a larger battle might be around the corner. Mind games are a useful tool for both sides. When confronted with them, play your own. Make the person talking seem boring and not worth listening too even if they have your full attention. Kakashi plays games like that on Guy all the time. Mess around with a something to occupy your hands that would make you seem distracted. Make small comments when the moment presents itself. If you show yourself not being flustered by their games, it will unnerve your opponent. It will keep control of the situation in your hands. Like the first thing I taught you, it's all about control."_

Hinata looked back up at Neji, "Are you done, big brother? We really should get this match going .I do not think we will be allowed to advance simply through talking all day." She flicked the senbon in Neji's general direction. It spun lazily in the air and hit the ground with a quiet metallic ting. At the sound, both Hyuuga were in motion.

'Dang, Hinata is sooo cool.' Naruto thought.

Neji closed the gap between himself and Hinata in moments in a full attack. His strikes were picture perfect Gentle Fist. His balance was without equal in the clan. He had defeated sparring partners of greater age and ability with such an attack. He missed. Hinata simply was not there to be hit. Somehow she had shifted her body sideways to avoid his strike completely and he paid for his miss with a pair of strikes to his arm.

He flared his chakra at the moment of the hit to prevent his tenketsu from being closed. Hinata followed with a leg sweep that Neji jumped over and tried to strike her shoulder. A hand blocked the strike to the side before Hinata used the momentum of the leg sweep to swing to the left in a graceful pirouette.

"Very nice, Hinata-sama, but we are not here to dance."

"Oh darn, and I brought my dancing shoes." Hinata faked a pout as she waited for Neji's next attack.

Neji growled softly under his breath. This was not going the way he had thought it would. Hinata was not the same weak girl she had been for so long. Confidence poured off of her and her skills, while strange, were much better than he had realized. He would have to exert himself.

Neji closed in again, much faster than the first time. He made multiple strikes at Hinata who gave ground under the assault. Her blocks were coming just as fast as his attacks. It did make sense since they used the same basic taijutsu style but she made it seem much more graceful. Her moves had no wasted motion and fluidly went from one to the next. He pushed himself harder in the next flurry of attacks, 'She should not be this strong,' he thought.

Neji saw an opening and sent a blow at Hinata's side and felt it connect solidly. His sense of triumph was short lived as he felt a searing pain in his tricep. His arm curled in reflex as he back off a few steps. Hinata had struck at the muscle and temporarily paralyzed it. He could not open his arm from the curl the bicep was pulling it into. He poked the pressure point and felt a serious pins and needles sensation in the muscle as he rubbed it. Hinata merely waited in her ready stance but slightly favoring her side.

"If I were an enemy, big brother, you would be finished already. They would not have given you the chance to fix that."

Neji just grunted and kept up his working on his arm. It would be weakened for hours yet but he could move his arm again. He could draw this out to get more of a chance to recover. "From you? I think not. You, your sister and your father are all weak. My father was stronger than yours. He had better taijutsu, a stronger Byakugan. He should have been clan leader not yours."

"Our fathers were identical twins Neji-kun. Mine simply was born first. They were equals at birth, one no better than the other. He was raised to be a leader and your father was raised to be a warrior. Either one could have been molded into either role. They both had their future decided for them at birth it is true but that was not destiny. It was only how they were born. What Hyuuga clan leader EVER allowed a Branch member to live in the Main house? You were raised there, Neji-kun. Yes, both of us barely knew your father but he and my father fought what was chosen for them at birth. The clan made them leader and subordinate, but above that they were still brothers. True, brothers fight and get jealous of one another but when family is threatened, they gathered around and fought together."

"Father has told me of that night, Neji-kun. Your father was upset about your branding and had argued with mine. Father was in a bad place politically with the Elders and he did not wish to brand you with the seal. He was being threatened with being ousted due to his 'liberal ideals' when it came to his brother and nephew. The alarm came of me being taken and immediately they dropped their argument and fought to save me. My father killed the kidnapper and in the end yours chose to die to protect us all. My father still lights incense for his brother and isolates himself the entire day after my birthday because it has wounded him so."

Neji knew about Hiashi locking himself away that one day a year but never knew exactly why it was done. Could Hinata be telling the truth about that? Was all his hatred of the Main House due to circumstance? True, he was the only Branch member living in the main building. His room was just as fine as Hinata's and Hiashi had never actually used his curse mark. Hiashi treated him more like a son than a servant. This led to Hinata calling him 'big brother' all the time. Also, Hanabi had never been marked, as she should have been as the younger sibling.

Neji shook his head. He would not let go of things, this was too much of a distraction right now. His arm was as good as it was going to get. He needed to end this farce and move on to the next fight.

"Well, 'little sister'; this new style of yours is the talk of the clan. Why now give someone else a viewing of it?"

Neji charged Hinata and closed to striking distance. The pair began trading blows, blocks, sweeps and counters as they tried to beat down the other. Neji felt some of Hinata's blows close his chakra points and he was certain his were doing the same to her. Something seemed wrong, as his strength seemed to be slipping away. He was getting too many points closed too fast for his body to compensate. Hinata seemed just as fresh as she had earlier. A few of her motions were less steady but that was to his hits doing their job. He had to risk everything on one last blow. The move the Main house could kill him for knowing, Rotation (Kaiten)

Hinata was getting winded now. This exchange of blows was doing more damage than she liked. She was doing much better than she had hoped against Neji. A solid strike to her leg had reduced her mobility greatly and only her training at dodging blows was keeping her in this battle. She saw Neji gather chakra and for a moment thought he was going ot use a jutsu but then recognized he was going to do a move he should not know. She could not avoid a Kaiten in her state so she stopped fighting like it was a spar and began fighting like she was a ninja. Her hand reached into her holster and pulled out several senbon needles and hurled them at Neji as he shouted out the moves name.

A sphere of chakra surrounded Neji as he began to rotate in one foot. All but one senbon was blown back by the chakra but the last embedded itself into his thigh.

Hinata raised her arms before her face as the wave of chakra blew her backwards. She saw her senbon had reached its target and smiled. She shifted her weigh enough to lessen the impact before slamming into the behind her with a large thud. She fell boneless to the floor unconscious.

Neji was breathing heavily as he looked at Hinata lying there and took one step toward her but his leg refused to move. The ground swayed underneath him and he fell unable to move. The senbon in his leg had a slight blue tinge to it and he realized he had been poisoned. Blackness claimed him.

"As both fighters are unable to continue, I declare this match to be a draw, double disqualification, neither advance," Hayate said.

Medics came out to the fallen fighters as their instructors came out as well. Anko looked down as Hinata was placed onto a stretcher to be taken to the infirmary. "Good job kid. You showed someone important to you that not only are you strong, but that maybe he has been wrong about you for many years. I'll be in to see you soon."

Guy was wailing about how his 'precious student' had fallen to such a cowardly attack as a poisoned senbon. In truth, it was more of an act to save face since he was actually glad Neji had his butt handed to him. Now perhaps Neji could truly awaken the Fires of his Youth since he could lose the idea that he was invincible.

"Whoa, that was some fight, huh Sakura?" Naruto exclaimed/ "I never knew Hinata was so tough. I bet she could be kicking my butt out there with those moves. I had better train harder from now on."

Sakura just nodded along with the few other Leaf genin watching.

Hayate cleared his throat, "The next match, Gaara of the Desert vs. Kinuta Dosu."

Gaara merely used a sand teleport down to the floor as Dosu walked down the stairs. Once the pair was in position, Hayate signaled for them to begin. Dosu jumped backwards and swung his arm at Gaara. "My Melody Arm with take care of you quickly!"

Gaara merely stood motionless as the wave of sound generated by the device on Dosu's arm washed over him. For a moment Gaara seemed unharmed when he suddenly bent over an vomited.

Dosu laughed wildly. "You cannot avoid sound, desert rat. It gets through even your sand."

Gaara gave an evil grin and lifted a hand at Dosu whispering, "Sand Coffin" His sand flowed out at Dosu like water and surrounded the Sound ninja. In moments, Dosu had vanished from sight as the sand compacted around him. "Sand Funeral," Gaara whispered again as the sand crushed the genin.

The sand fell away as the crushed remains of Dosu fell to the ground. Several people in the balcony as well as a couple of jonin vomited at the sight. Death was something they were used to but this. This was simple slaughter. Gaara walked away as Hayate named him the winner. Some chunin on hand had the unenviable task of cleaning up what remained of Dosu.

It took about 10 minutes for the chunin to clean up the blood and remove the corpse. No one on the balcony spoke until the next match was announced.

Nara Shikamaru vs. Tsuchi Kin.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru grumbled as he made his way down the stairs.

The Sound girl was quiet as she made her down to the floor. Her teammates had both been braggarts and loud. She seemed much more reserved and thoughtful. 'Likely a genjutsu type since they tend to remain in the background and not noticed until they strike.' Shikamaru thought. He surveyed the floor and saw nothing he could use as a distraction. 'Ah well, the old fashioned way I guess.'

"Begin" called out Hayate as he jumped back from the genin.

Kin tossed senbon towards Shikamaru and back away out of easy melee reach. Shikamaru just stood in the same place and throw single kunai knifes at Kin, gauging her reactions. Kin just dodged and returned fire with more senbon. Shikamaru heard some bells from the latest senbon and figured they would be part of her genjutsu attack. He threw another kunai which the dark haired girl avoided. She was now in position. He raised his hands and muttered his family jutsu. His shadow reached out and connected to Kin's feet.

"Shadow Possession jutsu successful," he quietly stated. Kin tried to move but found herself taking 3 large steps backwards at the same time that Shikamaru did. Her last sight was the Leaf boy bending over backwards. The ceiling filled her view until her head rammed into the wall hard. Blackness fell.

Shikamaru straightened up and walked off with his hands in his pocket once Hayate declared him the winner.

Four genin watched the board now. Naruto, Sakura, Kiba and Sasuke were all that remained to be chosen. Sakura found herself holding her breath as the names appeared on the board. It came rushing out as she saw that she would be fighting her former crush; once Naruto and Kiba finished.

Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba

Kiba was torn on what to do. Akamaru was still injured from their time in the forest. He knew it would weaken his fighting style but he did not want to risk his puppy right now. "Stay up here, Akamaru. I can handle this guy all alone." He tried to sound brave but the puppy could tell his master was worried and just whined but obeyed.

Naruto faced Kiba down on the floor and they knocked fists like Choji and Lee had. "May the best man win," Naruto said.

"Of course I will," Kiba countered.

"Begin" Hayate called.

Naruto immediately called out his favorite jutsu and a half dozen copies of Naruto appeared around Kiba. The clones all began attacking Kiba with taijutsu as the dog user tried to figure out which was his true opponent. Solid counters would destroy the shadow clones but each time it happened Naruto would create more. He was getting a good idea of Kiba's skill level in taijutsu and decided to go for a quick knockout.

The clones piled on Kiba as the dog user called out his family attack, "Fang over Fang" (Gatsuuga) Kiba whirled quickly and became a blur just before the clones piled on and they vanished into smoke as Kiba closed in on Naruto. Naruto grinned as he dodged Kiba and set off his trap. A massive stink bomb landed on Kiba who gagged on the odor against his sensitive nose. Naruto followed up with a devastating blow to the jaw, knocking out the disoriented Kiba.

"Wiiner, Uzumaki Naruto," Hayate declared.

Kakashi came down to help with Kiba as the boy stirred. "Lucky for you I was already tired, Naruto. If I had Akamaru ,this would have gone a lot differently."

"I believe it, Kiba," Naruto replied. "We will have to do this again when you both are feeling better."

The pair knocked fists again as Kiba was escorted out to get some oxygen to clear up his sense of smell.

Final Match, Haruno Sakura vs. Uchiha Sasuke

Sasuke had spent all the matches with his Sharingan eyes activated, soaking up techniques. He did not care that it was considered rude to do so. He could claim ignorance of that fact as it had never been told to him directly. Besides, he was an Uchiha. He deserved any jutsu he could find to help him destroy his brother. Private family ownership of a jutsu that could help with that was not his concern. Most of the jutsu he copied were of little use to him as most were either too weak or he lacked the physical prowess to use them. Only the Shadow Clones Naruto had used seemed worthwhile right now but the charka cost was horrendous. Sasuke knew he might be able to make a single clone but that would be if he were fully rested. How much chakra did the Loser have?

The mark on his shoulder given to him by that Orochimaru in the forest was his little secret. It was almost promising him power if he acted in accordance with the desire to hurt and kill. If he thought of kindness or compassion it would throb. Thoughts of mercy and generosity brought pain from it. He had passed it off to Kiba and Shino as it being an Uchiha seal since it resembled his eyes. They had bought the lie and did not pursue the issue.

Sakura looked at the boy she used to have a crush on, He seemed so cold and distant since the Academy and looking at him now; he had an aura of almost evil intent. She would have to take care of business quickly if she wanted to pass to the next stage. Still, she did not relish having to fight Sasuke. If he had been kinder or found a different path, they could have remained friends.

"Begin," Hayate called and backed off again.

Sakura jumped forward and kicked at Sasuke. He just blocked her kicks with minimal effort. His Sharingan told him where the blows would fall and he just responded. He kicked in return at an opening and Sakura was sent flying away. Sasuke had yet to move from his starting position as Sakura rolled and got back to her feet.

She pulled out a double handful of kunai knives with small bags attached. She threw them around Sasuke who did not even try to moved yet. The bags exploded into a cloud of small nots. Sasuke realized now he was in danger and jumped as Sakura set off the notes. 'Sakura blizzard trial run successful,' she thought. 'That ought to impress even him.'

Sasuke barely escaped from the explosion and moved to attack Sakura directly. His blows fell fast and furious on her as she had not been expecting her attack to not even damage her former crush. Her arms took punishment as she covered her face and vitals from his blows. A strike got inside her guard and he landed a crushing fist to her stomach, lifting her up off the ground. She spat blood as her teeth bit her cheek. She landed on her back.

'All that training Tsunade-sensei put me through and he tears me apart in seconds. How strong is he?' she thought.

Sasuke picked Sakura up by the bodice of her dress with his right hand. He drew back his left as her arms hung limply at her sides. She whispered out, "Don't"

He grinned in an almost malevolent fashion as a memory surfaced. "You can do better than that Sakura. If you were more polite I might consider it. Say Please."

Sakura recalled how she had made Sasuke ask about tree climbing on the Wave. However she refused to give him the satisfaction. Her left hand reached back to grasp her father's kunai. She pulled it out of the sheath and swung it at Sasuke's head.

Sasuke's Sharingan saw her motions and correctly deduced it was a kunai in her hand as the girl was desperate strike. In a moment he knew how far he needed to lean his head to have it miss. He did not even glance at the blade. It was not until it sliced deeply into cheek that he realized something was wrong. He dropped Sakura and looked at the knife in her hand for the first time. He saw his mistake, He had assumed she would have a standard kunai and reacted to that. His hand felt the gash in his face. It has come very close to his EYE! THE FOUL GIRL HAD ALMOST TAKEN AWAY HIS EYE!! Rage flew through Sasuke at the thought and the seal on his next throbbed in sympathy. Power coursed into his body as thought of pain and suffering inflicted upon the unworthy girl flashed across his mind. The white of his left eye turned black and strange flame like marks flowed across his body from the seal.

Sakura managed to stand up and looked at the shaking Sasuke. Her knife held ready she heard a dark chuckle come from the Uchiha. He made a trio of hand signs and rushed at the girl. Purple lightning filled his hand as he moved and he thrust it at the girl's chest. The bolts arced around her body as the electricity filled it. She flew backwards in a scream of pain and rolled to a stop about 10 yards away. She lay still. Shouts arose from the balcony from the jonin when they saw Sasuke's attack. Tsunade and Kakashi were at their student in moment. Sasuke just stood there doing nothing as Tsunade bent to her student.

Sakura was not breathing.

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Next Chapter: Aftermath

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End Notes: Alas, poor Sakura. I am sooo evil. My kid is not happy with me leaving this cliffhanger. That must mean I did it right.

I know I accelerated some plot points out of the filler, movies and Shippuden. I love the idea of Sakura's combo medic bag weapons pouch. The pictures of it all show an over-sized kunai along the top of it. I wanted Sakura to have some sort of meaning attached to the thing so I had her father give it to her. Her father by the way is a plain working stiff man. His name means accountant.

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Review Notes: Midoriryu had a nice long review with a few points I wanted to respond to. First I appreciate your clear writing and addressing my plot without seeing the need to simply slam my writing. That is the kind of constructive review I think people should make.

My treatment of Sasuke is one that I decided on in the writing of the story. I was not that I needed a villain .I just expanded all the characters along how they would be different with the changed Naruto. Sasuke lacks the bonds that the canon version made with Naruto. It caused him to fall harder and faster than he would otherwise. It was his friendship with Naruto that left him with any redeemable qualities at all. My Sasuke is not the canon one, I have stated that often enough. Yes, he is a coward. He is full of himself and his own sense of superiority. All he wants is to get revenge and rebuild his clan. Too bad he wants revenge first because if he went the other way his life would be a whole lot more fun.

Your point about canon and Sasuke not trying to kill Naruto. Actually, he succeeded on 2 separate occasions in that VotE fight to 'kill' Naruto. The Chidori through the chest and the piledriver into solid stone (manga volume 26 pg 36 and anime episode 133) The Chidori was aimed at Naruto's heart and Naruto deflected it. The only reason Naruto survived is obviously the Kyuubi.

I also think that while I have made him an almost completely evil character; I have made him actually more powerful that canon simply because he will not hesitate to use his power like canon would. In one way he could be compared to the fall of Anakin Skywalker in Episode 3. He did not intend to become what he did but he did anyhow.

Bissek, the bank account is like any account a parent would set up for their child, with both names on it. The Third put his name there to prevent anyone from stealing from it. No one would steal from the Hokage.


	18. Aftermath of Preliminaries

Chapter 18 Aftermath

Tsunade bent over her student. Sakura was not breathing.

"Damn." 'Ok, she still has a weak pulse but that lightning jutsu stopped her breathing' "SHIZUNE! GET MY BAG!" Tsunade roared out. Tsunade made a few hand signs and pressed her now green glowing hands to Sakura's chest. Medics flowed in from the infirmary and ran to the aid of the Slug Sannin. Tsunade glared at them and all stopped at a massive killer intent from several sources. The often-overlooked Shizune came running down having unsealed Tsunade's emergency medical kit from its storage scroll.

"Shizune, scan her brain. She was hit with a lightning jutsu. Make sure …" Tsunade paused as she pushed more chakra into Sakura. Shizune just nodded and set to her task of diagnosing Sakura's over all condition.

"Don't die. Don't die," murmured Tsunade under her breath. Shizune heard what was being said but kept silent and on her job of stabilizing Sakura.

Within a minute, Sakura coughed loudly as the two doctors got her breathing again. The unconscious genin was breathing shallow and light but was doing it independently. Tsunade stopped with her chakra and pulled out medicines from her bag to aid in keeping Sakura stable. After using what she needed to, Tsunade looked up at Shizune, "Shizune, use a forced sleep jutsu on her if she stirs. We don't need for her to wake up just yet. Then we get her to a private room to take care of that burn on her chest."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," Shizune got out. "I will stay with her."

Tsunade nodded then turned to glare at the Uchiha who was standing under ANBU guard. The boy was holding a bandage over the gash on his cheek. Jiraiya, Sarutobi and Kakashi were all examining the now revealed seal on Sasuke's neck. Tsunade growled and launched herself toward the boy. Jiraiya caught the spike of killer intent and caught Tsunade before she could shove her fist through the Uchiha's face.

"Tsunade, calm down! CALM DOWN!!" Jiraiya managed to get her attention as Sarutobi also got between the Slug Sannin and her prey. "We can handle things. Since you are not tending to Sakura, I assume she is going to be all right. Sensei is going to deal with the boy. You just need to focus on your student for now."

Tsunade was both annoyed and surprised at the normally irresponsible Jiraiya being the voice of reason in this situation. 'Wait, if Jiraiya is down here …' "Where is the gaki? I am sure he will be going ballistic over this."

Jiraiya looked a little sheepish. "Um, yeah. He already did. In more ways than one."

* * *

Flashback

Naruto stood in shock as Tsunade leaped down to the floor and began tending to Sakura. When Tsunade yelled to Shizune, Naruto was trembling and Jiraiya felt a huge spike of chakra coming from the blonde boy. The Toad Sage looked at his pupil and saw that the boy's eyes were red and slit like a fox's. Red chakra began pouring off Naruto in waves and most of the room looked in his direction. The older ninja all recognized the feel of the chakra and began to panic. Jiraiya cursed and reached into a pocket to pull out a small square paper seal. Naruto was about to launch himself over the railing at the Uchiha but Jiraiya slapped the seal onto Naruto's forehead and the boy went down and out like a light being switched off.

"Anko, stay with him. He will need a friendly face nearby when he wakes from that," Jiraiya commanded. "I'll be back soon to check over his seal. Sensei is waving me down there to look at the Uchiha." Anko took Naruto and lay him down by the wall behind the balcony.

Somewhere, a deep rumble sounded over this new complication. Getting free was going to be harder with that one nearby.

End Flashback

* * *

Shizune watched the medics load Sakura onto a stretcher and went with them to the infirmary before the girl was transported to the main hospital. She looked back at the group surrounding the Uchiha and knew this was far from over.

A number of people were all talking at Sarutobi at once. Sarutobi looked at everyone and motioned for silence.

"First, I will deal with one thing at a time. Hayate-san, answer in your capacity as the umpire, did Uchiha Sasuke violate any of your orders or the rules of the examination?"

Hayate frowned and sighed then replied, "No Hokage-sama. He had not been instructed to stop and was still acting within the rules of the exam." Several jonin and most of the Leaf genin present soundly disagreed with the judgment but Sarutobi raised his hand for silence again.

"I know it is unpopular but for the moment, Uchiha Sasuke is the winner of his preliminary bout and will proceed to the Finals in one month's time. All genin who advanced will report to the Tower tomorrow morning at 9 am where we will assign bouts for the Finals. We will conduct an inquiry into the situation of this match and why an assassination jutsu was used here. I will have a final determination at that time. ANBU, escort Uchiha Sasuke to the hospital to have his wound seen to, then take him to Hokage Tower and confine him there. We want to get a better look at that cursed seal on his neck and decide on a course of action."

"Hokage-sama, wouldn't ANBU headquarters be a better place to hold the boy? It is more secure," one asked.

"Not at the moment. I do not want Danzo to get his greedy little paws on the boy."

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sarutobi said.

Sasuke looked up at the Hokage. Sarutobi continued, "You will go with these ANBU and be held until we can examine the seal on your neck and the circumstances of how you received it. If you fail to remain there until released by myself, all of your clan's estates, goods and standing within Konohakagure will be forfeit. Do you understand?"

Sasuke paled at the punishment for non-compliance and answered, "Yes"

Sarutobi turned to the assembled crowd, "Jonin sensei, take your students to their lodgings or whatever meeting places you find convenient as long as they are out of here. Jiraiya, Tsunade, come with me. Kakashi, turn your remaining students over to Kurenai for now and come with me as well. I have many questions that need answering."

* * *

Sarutobi made his way into his office and sat looking at his former students and Kakashi. "It seems we have several problems and they are all tied together now. Orochimaru is making moves against us openly now if this seal on the Uchiha boy is any indication. That he has the temerity to put his mark on a ninja of Konoha is beyond troubling. I had hoped his creating a village had meant he was changing in his attitudes but this shows he has not. We must make some plans now. Jiraiya, I want you to examine that cursed seal closely and see if you can do anything about it. Kakashi, you will go with Jiraiya and aid him. You will find out how the boy acquired such a mark and why his entire team failed to tell us about it upon his arrival. Encountering Orochimaru in the Forest should have been reported as soon as he arrived. Wait, talk to his teammates before you interrogate the boy. Who knows what he might come up with at this point? I fear I was right months ago that the boy would betray Konoha simply for power. Kakashi, you will return once you have the information. I have other questions for you regarding the boy"

Jiraiya and Kakashi both nodded and left the office.

"Tsunade, I know you are worried about your student. You can go check on her shortly but I want to put the medical corps and the hospital under your direct command. I fear we will soon need medical care for many ninja soon. All matters medical would report to you."

Tsunade sat quietly after her teacher's request. Accepting it would mean she was coming back to Konoha on a more permanent basis. She thought back over the last 8 months. The bubbly optimism of her student and distant cousin. The never say quit attitude and energy of Minato's boy. The silent strength growing within the Hyuuga girl. Those children had become more than just some students she was training as a favor to her teacher. More than simply a job she was doing. The events of this past morning had shown to her she had come to care for them all.

It felt … good.

The Will of Fire that Sarutobi always talked about had not burnt in Tsunade since she had lost Dan. But due to those children, it had awoken again. Tsunade found she could not just walk away anymore. The image of her saving Sakura superimposed itself over the one of her losing Dan and lessened the pain just a bit.

"I can do that, Sensei."

* * *

Kakashi went back to Kiba and Shino where they waited with Kurenai. The look on his face told the genin that there was trouble ahead. "The two of you have not done anything wrong. I need to know what you do before I go in to talk to Sasuke."

Kiba and Shino both nodded and began telling Kakashi the entire ordeal in the Forest of Death.

* * *

Flashback Begins

Team 7 set out from the starting gate and quickly made their way into the forest. Kiba and Akamaru led the way followed by Sasuke with Shino trailing. Shino had dispersed his insects into the area around them for security and scouting purposes. The group moved quickly through the branches and moved about one mile in before turning to one side to seek out other teams.

They avoided an ambush set by a sole Rain ninja. Shino's bugs had found the teen hiding on the forest floor and he fled quickly. Sasuke just smirked at the fleeing enemy. Kiba grumbled that he wanted to fight the boy.

Team 7 traveled several more hours and spied no other teams during their search. They were thinking about getting some rest when the attack came.

A wind jutsu none of them knew blew the three genin in different directions. Shino's bugs on patrol had detected nothing prior to the jutsu impacting them. Shino was knocked senseless against the trunk of a tree and his insects were scattered over a several acres of forest. Kiba and Akamaru fell down to the forest floor and clung to some exposed roots to avoid being thrown too far from the rest. Sasuke managed to dodge a majority of the attack. He had been blown only about 20 yards before regaining his footing and swinging behind a tree trunk to wait out the wind.

Kiba began climbing back up to the branches he had been previously and saw Sasuke in a staring match with what looked like a Grass genin. Akamaru however whined to Kiba that the enemy was far too strong to be a genin and was giving off enough tightly focused killing intent to make Akamaru want nothing to do with the enemy. As Kiba approached, he felt the edges of what was being directed at Sasuke. 'If it is this bad out of the line of it, what must it be like as the target?' Kiba thought.

Kiba watched as the Grass ninja casually tossed a kunai at Sasuke's head. The Uchiha managed to dodge it by wounding himself and breaking the hold the jutsu had on him. The boy retaliated with fire techniques and seemed to do some damage but the burnt figure melted into the ground, being revealed as being a mud clone.

Kiba looked around for the original only to see giant snake coming directly at him. Akamaru ran into the Inuzuka's knees from behind making Kiba fall backwards and off the branch. The snake missed the boy completely and knocked the puppy hard into a branch, wounding the dog's foreleg. Kiba hit the ground again hard and managed to look up at a scream from the Uchiha. He climbed up high enough to see the Grass ninja leaving and Sasuke lying on a branch in pain.

Kiba managed to get his comrades to the forest floor and hide the team in a cave alcove in the roots of a fallen tree. The Inuzuka clan technique, Hidden Den, managed to keep the team safe from detection and harm when the Sound team prowled nearby before moving on.

Shino woke after a few hours. He had a mild headache but luckily no concussion. He managed to recall most of his kikai insects over the night but they were being difficult from being exposed in a strange place with no commands. Sasuke moved fitfully while unconscious and both of his teammates observed the mark on his neck develop into a grouping that strongly resembled a fully mature Sharingan.

After nearly a day, Sasuke finally awoke in a burst of chakra. Kiba and Shino were concerned over how long the Uchiha had been out and had been discussing forfeiting the contest to get him medical aid. Akamaru slunk back from the awakened Sasuke in fear as the chakra he gave off felt 'bad' to the dog. When the outburst died down, Sasuke was confused and disoriented. He rubbed at his neck for a few moments before looking at it using his headband as a mirror.

"That is a strange marking and seal on your neck, Sasuke-san," Shino noted. "You appear to have been bitten and the seal formed around the bite mark." Kiba nodded in agreement.

Sasuke sat quietly for a minute; as if collecting his thoughts or remembering something before speaking. "Poison," he murmured. "It is an old Uchiha clan seal to protect against deadly poison. It is only seen when active. It is a Clan secret technique."

Shino could not tell if the Uchiha was being truthful or lying due to the Uchiha's system being so fouled so Shino took the statement as being truth. Many clans had secret means of protecting from poison.

"If you're poisoned, we should quit to get you some help," Kiba put in. "Akamaru's leg is hurt. Shino's colonies are barely listening to him and I have a set of bruised ribs from that tumble from the tree. Getting through this test intact is more important than passing."

"NO!" Sasuke yelled out. "I am not going to quit and neither are you two. It was bad enough that we had to be rescued on our only big mission by the Loser and his team. If we quit over a few minor injuries, how can we show them we are good enough to be chunin? We still have time to rest up and still finish this test without quitting."

Kiba frowned as he remembered how bad his team had looked after the mission in the Wave. Kakashi and his mother had both agreed that his team did well but his own pride had taken a beating over seeming so incompetent.

"If we wait for a full day to rest, that would leave us with approximately 60 hours to find a scroll and complete the mission, Kiba," Shino added. "I find myself loathe to quit as well. We are not in our best condition now but we are functional. We can see how we are in a day's time then decide upon further actions."

Kiba saw Shino wanted to continue along with Sasuke so he agreed to wait. The day passed by in safety and all seemed in better condition after a full day of rest. Shortly after leaving the camp, they had run into Kabuto out by himself. He asked if he could travel with them back to his team since he had been separated from them. After a short debate, Team 7 agreed. A run in with the Rain genin from earlier and his team got them the scroll they needed but left them exhausted of chakra for nearly another day. They were in no condition to fight to get to the tower so they rested again until a few hours prior to the end to make their dash for the finish. Kabuto left them to meet up with his own team at this time. Within an hour of arriving and not having a chance to discuss things with their sensei, Team 7 found themselves in the preliminaries.

End Flashback

* * *

Kakashi nodded as he took in the story of his students. He realized quickly that Sasuke had lied to them about the nature of the seal. No Uchiha seal existed to protect against poison like that. It was his own genin's lack of knowledge against a plausible lie that allowed the seal to go unmentioned in the few moments he had with the team before the matches began. He could not fault them for wanting to complete the mission either but he needed to make a point.

"In truth, your actions sound about reproach. With your teammates down like that, Kiba acted correctly when you got them to a safe place and holed up while you could rest and heal. Sasuke lied to you about the seal on his neck but you had no way of knowing that he did. You completed the mission within the time allotted and would have been fine if there had not been a preliminary for the finals. Individually, you both performed well and as a credit to Konoha. It is your teammate that is the problem," Kakashi frowned as he left.

* * *

Naruto stirred then came fully awake with a jolt. "Sakura!!" He lunged up only to be caught by Anko.

"Whoa, slow down there, Naruto. She is ok." Anko said to him as he struggled.

Naruto finally stopped to see that he was no longer on the balcony looking over the preliminary arena. He looked at Anko very confused. "What happened? Where did everyone go?"

"When Sakura went down, you started tapping into IT's chakra and were about to attack the Uchiha with it when Jiraiya slapped a chakra seal on you. You have been out for a couple of hours. The old pervert has been back since to check on your main seal before removing it. He would have stayed but he is going with Kakashi to interrogate the Uchiha."

"Its chakra. The Kyuubi? I thought that it couldn't get through the seal?

"It can't but its chakra can to small extent. Your chakra is what keeps the seal intact so that means you can pull some of its chakra out through it. It is very dangerous to your body but small doses will have no lasting effect, at least according to the old pervert. He figures if you pull too much chakra out, it can control your actions to an extent so it is not something you want to do that often, if ever. Although, the amount you pulled out in your anger was enough to make several chunin wet themselves."

"What happened to Sakura? You said she is ok?"

Anko nodded to Naruto, "Yes, Tsunade was down there as soon as the girl hit the floor. She and Shizune got her fixed up and off to the hospital for a checkup." 'What the checkup will show is something I don't know yet,' Anko thought. 'Lightning jutsu are very dangerous things.'

"When can I get to go see her and Hinata-chan?"

* * *

The Konoha hospital was in an uproar. The Forest of Death and preliminary matches in the Chunin Exam had left many seriously wounded genin. Deaths in this exam had been the highest in a long time. Medics were over worked and tired from dealing with many crippling injuries.

The true problem was not in the patients. It was in the form of a distraught middle-aged woman who was screaming at every medic in sight, "WHERE IS MY BABY?! WHERE IS MY SAKURA!?" Medics and patients alike scattered before the wrath of Haruno Sumomo. Eventually, the brown haired woman found the Intensive Care Unit and was about to storm in when Shizune appeared in front of her.

"Sakura is resting right now. She has had a bad ordeal and does not need to be hearing yelling especially from her mother," Shizune said with forced calmness.

Sumomo turned red with rage and got extremely scary looking as Shizune was speaking. "WHAT?! I AM HER MOTHER AND I WILL SEE HER WHEN I WANT TO!!" Sumomo swung a fist at Shizune who simply caught it and continued to look calmly at the older woman.

"I would not advise you to swing at a ninja again, Haruno-san. I have been patient with your rants. I have seen how you treated the people who tried to help you today. You will stop such childish behavior in this hospital." Shizune's face darkened and her eyes seemed to glow red for a moment at Sumomo. As Shizune lightly squeezed the captured fist of Sumomo she quietly said, "Have I made myself clear?"

Sumomo paled at the pain in her hand and the look on Shizune's face. She just nodded silently and backed off when Shizune let go of her fist. Shizune then smiled pleasantly and commented, "Sakura will be able to see visitors in about an hour or two. If you could wait quietly, I will see if I can speed that up."

* * *

Hinata stirred and looked at the white ceiling for a few moments before the pain in her head made her remember exactly why she was there. She sighed lightly at the fact that she lost her match. Her father would not be pleased with that. If she had not faced Neji, both likely would have advanced.

Slowly, she sat up to look around the room. There were two other kunoichi in the room, the girl from the Sound and one she did not recognize. The Sound girl had her head wrapped in bandages and was still unconscious. Hinata idly wondered what had happened to her. The other girl had her leg in a cast and raised up in the air. From experience, Hinata knew that was a bad break and there might be more damage judging by the elaborate setup.

A few minutes after she sat up, a nurse came in. The nurse smiled at Hinata and left to return with Shizune

Shizune smiled tiredly at Hinata. "Well, it seems one of our girls will be getting out of here today. How do you feel, Hinata?"

"Sore. It feels like a panda sat on my head," Hinata replied.

Shizune chuckled at the small joke, "Well, we didn't get the name of the panda but he didn't leave any noticeable damage. You'll be able to get out of here soon. We are overflowing with injured genin from the exam. If you have any strange symptoms or vomiting, come right back to see someone. Besides, with you up and around you can distract Naruto. With Sakura's injuries, he is driving everyone in the place insane."

"Sakura's injuries? What happened to Sakura?"

"Oh, you were out when it happened. Sakura faced Sasuke in a preliminary bout and he beat her badly. He used a lightning jutsu of some kind on her that really messed her up. But Sakura got in a few good shots of her own. The pretty boy is not so pretty anymore."

* * *

Sasuke sat in the holding cell with his arms crossed. He was furious that he was being held like some kind of criminal. Everyone was making such a big deal about him hurting the pink haired harpy. No one had said one word yet about the damage she had done to his face. When he arrived at the hospital, he was forced to wait while other, less important, people were seen to before him. The medics even all claimed to be low on chakra when his turn arrived and they merely stitched his wound closed like they were civilian doctors, not medical ninja. The wound would scar quite badly now. 'When are these idiots going to let me out of here? I have training to get to. He is getting stronger while I just waste away in this hole.'

Kakashi and Jiraiya watched the Uchiha boy merely sitting in the holding cell like he owned the place and that he was being inconvenienced by waiting there. Jiraiya spoke quietly to Kakashi, "I have seen Orochimaru's curse marks before. I helped on the one he put onto Anko and I have seen a few more over the years. They keep becoming more and more complicated. None of them has responded this aggressively to the person it has been put on before. It has already worked its way deep into his chakra network and it is going to be difficult, if not impossible, to block at this point. It has a strong feeling of Orochimaru's chakra to it as if he infused a piece of himself into the thing. If I did not know better, I would think it is alive in the way it reacts to stimulus. It's time to talk to the boy."

Kakashi and Jiraiya entered the holding cell only for Sasuke to ignore them.

"You do realize that if you do not answer our questions or you make things difficult, you will spend more time in here?" Jiraiya asked Sasuke.

Sasuke finally turned his head to look at his interrogators. "What do you want to know?"

Jiraiya spoke again, "We need to know the circumstances in which you received Orochimaru's curse mark on your neck."

Sasuke sat quietly for a moment before asking, "Who is Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya knew the question was a ploy for time to think so he responded, "You just need to answer the question put to you before you get any of yours answered."

Sasuke grumbled at being talked down to. It was not something he had much experience with. "Fine, the team got ambushed in the forest. A very strong Grass ninja bit my neck and it appeared. Now who is Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya looked over at Kakashi and motioned with his head to the door. The two men stood and began to leave. Sasuke frowned and called out, "What? I answered your question."

Jiraiya stopped and looked back. "You answered what you were willing to answer with as little information as possible. We will return in a few hours and I hope you will answer our questions completely. Further reluctance to answer is not in your best interest at this point. Neither is your attitude."

The door made a loud squeal as the ungreased hinges closed. The final working of the lock followed and left Sasuke alone with his thoughts one more.

* * *

Darkness slowly lifted from Sakura's eyes. A white ceiling hovered overhead as she tried to focus. She hurt all over but mostly in her chest. Breathing just hurt. She made herself breathe deeper and found she could but it still hurt. She tried to remember how she got here.

A fight, she remembered a fight then nothing but pain and darkness. She was fighting Sasuke. She was losing badly. He made a comment that upset her and she cut him. Then her chest exploded in pain and she woke up here.

Sakura slowly looked at the room. She was in a private one and no one else was present. The nurse call button was clipped to the blanket over her chest and she weakly lifted an arm to it. A nurse appeared within seconds of her pressing the button.

"Oh good, you're awake. I'll fetch Tsunade in a moment. Is there anything you need first?"

"Sore. Thirsty," Sakura croaked out of a dry throat.

The nurse nodded and left. Sakura waited in silence as the minutes passed before Tsunade walked in with a smile. The nurse followed with a small pitcher of water and a cup. Tsunade waited while the nurse poured for Sakura then helped the girl drink a small amount. Once the nurse had left, Tsunade spoke.

"You gave us all quite a fright young lady. You were very lucky because a few minutes later and you would be dead."

Sakura nodded and just whispered, "Sorry sensei."

"Well, it is not your fault entirely, Sakura. That rat of an Uchiha is the one who used a lightning jutsu on you. He is being held right now for questioning. Do you remember what happened? He said something then you slashed at him with an old style kunai cutting him. Then he hits you with that jutsu."

Sakura tried to think of everything said before it cleared up. "He had me up in the air and was getting ready to slug me. I said 'don't' and he told me that I needed to say please like I made him do in the Wave country. I wouldn't and I pulled my dad's kunai and swung at him. It gets hazy after that."

Tsunade smiled, "You gave the boy a cut and soon to be scar that would have most ninja telling lies about for decades. He freaked and hit you with a jutsu that looked a lot like Kakashi's Chidori. Where the kid learned it, I have no idea. None of your class has had any nature manipulation training."

"Kakashi sensei had used a lightning jutsu in the Wave. I saw it and I know Sasuke did as well. I was too busy taking care of Shino at the time to notice much else."

Tsunade nodded and made a mental note to pass on that tidbit. "In any case, there is a line of people waiting to see you. You up for a few visitors?"

"I think so. Who is there?"

"Your parents, your teammates, a few friends from your Academy class. Also there have been a surprising number of well-wishers from the shinobi ranks and number of minor threats from civilians. It seems the Uchiha still has a fan girl base among the villagers who want to marry up."

"Ugh, my mother. I just know she is going to make trouble. I might as well get it over with."

Tsunade went to the door and made a motion. As Sakura's parents entered the room, Tsunade said "5 minutes"

Sumomo rushed over to the bed. "Oh my poor baby. I always knew you being a ninja was a bad idea, Sakura. You should listen to your mother more than you do. We are going to get you out of being a silly ninja and find you a good husband"

"Mom."

"I think I could still get you engaged to that nice boy of your father's boss."

"Mom!"

"You would be set for life and I could be getting grandbabies in a few years."

"MOM!" Sakura finally yelled.

Sumomo finally stopped at the yell and looks abashed. For nearly a minute, Sumomo's brain processed the situation. Her daughter had raised her voice. To her own mother! "Where did I go wrong, having a disrespectful child? And you cut up that boy's face too."

"Sumomo! That is enough." Shukei now raised his voice to his wife. The woman had the nerve to look shocked at her husband now as he continued in harsh tones, "You will not carry on like that in front of our daughter. She has made her choice in life and we shall support it. I have allowed you to try to talk her out of this for years now but I have never stopped you before. It is high time that I did. You will not take my daughter's dreams away. I am well aware that our own marriage was arranged and if you continue like this I will be forced to send you back to your mother. It is within my rights as Sakura has been a legal adult once she became a genin."

Sumomo just stood staring at the man she called husband. She had felt the man was a weak slug under her thumb for many years. "You … you would do that to me? After all these years?"

"If you keep pushing; yes, I will."

Sumomo now realized where Sakura had gotten her strange determination. Her husband looked at her with more steel in his eyes than she had ever seen. His green eyes seemed to flash as he protected his daughter. She finally wilted under his gaze and small tears ran from her eyes before she broke down and sobbed. "I only want what is best for Sakura. For her to have a safe future."

Shukei wrapped his arms around his wife and spoke in a comforting tone, "I know dear, but you never know when to stop." He looked over at Sakura, "We will be back later. You get well sweetie."

"I will Dad, and thanks"

Shukei guided his sobbing wife out the door and took her home. The couple would be talking most of the night for the first time in years.

Naruto, Hinata and Anko piled into the room after Sakura's parents left. As normal, Naruto was loud and Hinata was quiet.

"Hey Sakura, your looking almost ready to get out of here and get back to training." Naruto cried out.

"Baka," Sakura said in reply. "It will be a few days at least. You must not be paying that much attention in Tsunade-sensei's classes."

Naruto spoke in a quieter voice, "Oh, I pay plenty of attention. I was just trying to make you feel better about it."

Hinata smiled but kept her voice low to begin with. Her head still hurt in spite of the painkillers, "You get better Sakura. It seems Anko-sensei is going to give us your part of the workouts until you get back."

Anko beamed in her own way, "Yup Pinkie. Naruto gets extra laps and meditation time until you can get back into PT. Oh and I have a little gift for you." Anko pulled Sakura's old style kunai from inside of her coat. It had some dried blood on it. "Genuine Uchiha. You are the first person since the Kyuubi to make an Uchiha with an active Sharingan bleed in battle. Um, not counting Itachi of course. I figured you could use a souvenir. You got that boy good."

"I'm not so sure I should crow about it, Anko-sensei. He got me back for it."

"True, true. But your scars will fade and be covered up and his will be in his mirror forever. You get better so I can run your butt into the ground some more. You need more training with that knife of yours also."

"I will Anko-sensei," Sakura smiled as the team filed out.

One by one, the other genin she had in class came in and wished her well. Even Ino got in a jibe and mentioned her forehead. Sakura smiled as that meant Ino felt everything was going to be all right.

* * *

Neji lay in his own bed as he waited for the poison used against him to work its way out of his system. The hospital did not have a cure for the paralytic but his body was clearing it out and he could leave the hospital in the morning. His limbs responded now and while weak, he could at least enjoy movement once more.

A light knock sounded at the door before Hiashi strode into the room. Neji tried to sit up but Hiashi waved him back down. "You are looking better Neji. I was briefed on your contest with Hinata and I was delighted to hear how well the both of you did. Hinata has come along well in her new variant of Gentle Fist and you have surpassed all members of the Branch house by teaching yourself the techniques of the Main house."

"Am I to be punished for that, Hiashi-sama?" Neji inquired.

"No, Neji. In spite of your preoccupation with destiny, you are your father's son. He would be proud of the man you are becoming. He too railed against what other people imposed on him."

"Hinata-sama spoke of you and he arguing about things and always being brothers in spite of your differences but I recall you using the seal on him."

"Yes, not one of my prouder moments. That day I was frustrated at Hinata's lack of skill for her age and when I felt his glares I reacted. To think that mere days later he would be gone from us."

"Hinata-sama also said some other things during our bout that have made me think and I have many questions if I may ask."

Hiashi nodded, "We can talk in private back in the estate. For now, I have brought you a letter your father wrote for you before his death. He wanted you to have it when you were ready. I think you are now. Next week, we will begin your training on the Kaiten. If you are going to be doing that move, at least you should be doing it properly."

Neji was shocked but just lowered his head and answered, "Yes, Hiashi-sama"

* * *

It was evening when ANBU guards brought Sasuke to a meeting room near the Hokage's office. Waiting there for him, he saw the Hokage, the 2 Sannin, and Kakashi. Morino Ibiki was sitting quietly off to one side with a notepad. The ANBU guards had Sasuke sit in a lone chair before the Hokage.

"Uchiha Sasuke, since you are reluctant to answer the questions put to you by your teacher and Jiraiya; it falls to me to inform you of your last option. You can answer the questions put to you now or you will find your status as a ninja revoked with no recourse. Your future and your foolish idea of revenge are in your own hands now based on how you cooperate. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir," Sasuke said. He was angry that these people were willing to treat him like a criminal but he recognized that the Hokage held his future in the balance so he would have to jump through their hoops like a good soldier.

Kakashi started off, "Back to the question you were asked this afternoon. How did you get the curse seal on your neck? What were the circumstances?"

Sasuke frowned but answered, "We were in the forest and got ambushed. Kiba and Shino were blown away by a wind jutsu and I managed to get behind a tree trunk before traveling too far. Once it passed, I tried to find the person who cast it and was found myself by a Grass ninja. She radiated some genjutsu at me that froze me up and attacked. I managed to break free and attacked in reply with several fire jutsu and a few spools of wire. The ninja survived a Grand Fireball strike full on and came back for more. I was tired and that is when she bit me. I blacked out soon afterwards."

"Did this Grass ninja identify herself?" Jiraiya asked.

"No, I only saw her in the area before the second test began. The team she was with was nowhere in sight when I was attacked."

Kakashi spoke again, "You lied to your teammates about the nature of the seal. You claimed it was an Uchiha seal to resist poison. Why?"

"I did not see the seal itself as a detriment to us. I wanted to pass the test and both Kiba and Shino were inclined to quit in fear of my health. I was beginning to feel power from the seal and I did not want to quit. I needed to advance and become chunin to get more training so I can go after Itachi."

"We will come back to that point shortly," Sarutobi put in.

Kakashi nodded "Why was no one told about this curse seal when you arrived?"

"We arrived with only a short time before the bouts. I had not thought of it much since I had woken up. It was just a slight feeling of power when I would do certain things."

Jiraiya grunted and made some notes.

Kakashi continued, "Now, when did you copy my Chidori? I know I have only used it around you once in the Wave Country but you said that your Sharingan was not active at the time."

Sasuke looked nervous, as he had been caught in a lie. "It activated during the battle against the Mist ninja and the mercenaries. I saw you do your jutsu and I copied it before I knew what was happening. It was not intentional."

"But you kept quiet about it and lied on when your Sharingan activated, giving it's activation a day about a week later. I know just copying the jutsu will not give you the ability to convert normal chakra to elemental chakra. How did you go about doing that?"

Sasuke was getting upset at all these questions probing into his business but he knew the price of not answering. "I studied it from scrolls in the Uchiha library and developed the ability on my own. I have not completely learned how to convert my chakra so the jutsu is not damaging enough to penetrate the skin of the target dummies."

"You are lucky that you have not learned it so well, Uchiha Sasuke," the Hokage said on low tones. "If you had, this would be a trial for the murder of a fellow Leaf ninja, not merely an investigation. The Chidori, like the more powerful Raikiri, is first and foremost an assassination jutsu."

Sasuke paled slightly at hearing 'trial for murder'. There was only one punishment for murder of a fellow Leaf ninja: Death.

Tsunade spoke up now, "Why did you use the Chidori on Sakura?"

All the people present looked at Sasuke. He felt their collective gaze and flinched. Each one of the people here could take him out. It made him feel weak and he hated that feeling. His anger rose up. "It happened because she cut my face. I got cut and I lost my temper. She could have taken out my eye with that kunai. I got cut and I got angry, the power I felt from the seal grew and I lashed out in pain and hurt. If she had not cut me, she would not have been hurt. IT'S HER OWN FAULT!!"

Tsunade looked coldly at Sasuke, "Her own fault? Then who was the one showboating and trying to make Sakura beg? Asking her to 'say please'?"

Sasuke was beyond reasoning on this. The harpy deserved her injury! "She should not have made me beg for training in the Wave Country. I need to get stronger and everyone seems intent on holding me back! I need strong jutsu. I need more power if I am to defeat Itachi! Making me beg to learn how to climb up trees! I am an Uchiha; we are not supposed to beg! We are the elite of Konoha! I should be the one training under a Sannin, not some pink haired harpy who has good chakra control or some loser orphan with no clan or some pathetic slip of a Hyuuga! A dead end clan that the Uchiha clan deemed unworthy to be Uchiha when ours struck out on its own!"

During Sasuke's entire rant the curse seal had been spreading slowly across his body until flame like black marks reached halfway across it. The white of his left eye had turned black and his Sharingan had activated.

Sarutobi had heard enough. "Sasuke, you will calm down and be quiet. I am ready to pronounce my judgment in this matter."

Sasuke was breathing heavily and standing by this time. Slowly he calmed down and sat. As he relaxed, the seal retreated to its dormant state on his neck.

Sarutobi waited until the boy was quiet and listening.

"First of all, we are going to apply a containment seal over that cursed one. Jiraiya here will se to that. Then you are going to be placed on probation. There will be no training for you without a jonin level ninja present. That means no training within the walls of the Uchiha compound at night. If you are caught doing so, your chakra will be sealed for the first offense."

"Next, you will receive counseling for your apparent difficulties in facing reality. You think that simple power can defeat Itachi and that you are somehow a match for him. He was an ANBU level ninja 5 years ago when he killed your entire clan. He was the same age you are now. He was nowhere near his full growth and power physically. He has only gotten stronger since that day. I believe that now he could give a serious challenge or defeat myself, Jiraiya or Tsunade in a fight before resorting to his Sharingan. Do you honestly believe that you are on that level?"

Sasuke glowered and quietly said, "No, not yet."

"Now, in regards to your participation in the Chunin Exam finals. In spite of my efforts to the contrary, word has already been spread that you will be competing in the Chunin Exam finals in one month's time. I am loathe to pull you out of them now due to already a dozen daimyos have sent word that they will attend simply to see you battle."

"IF you obey the rules I have set and IF you show progress in regards to your self control, you will be allowed to participate in the Exam finals. Failure will result in your being disqualified and circumstances will dictate your punishment."

"ANBU, you will remain on guard while Jiraiya applies the containment seal. Afterwards, escort Sasuke to his home. He is freed from confinement once he reaches it."

"Uchiha Sasuke, be in the arena tomorrow morning at 9 for assignment in the Exam finals. This is your only last chance. It is up to you on what happens from here. You control your own future, no one else."

* * *

Next Chapter: Moving Onwards

* * *

End Notes: Not a lot happening review wise that needs addressing but my life is getting complicated again so my free time for writing suffers. I spend more time editing lately than actually adding new material because it just is not sounding right to me. For the moment this chapter needs to be more like filler as I tie up a few loose plot points and move into the next portion. The points I have not tied up are still dangling for a reason.

Yes, Gaara will be the major antagonist in the next portion as Sasuke is forced to keep his head down or risk it being chopped off. (Thanks Jerrac and it is corrected)


	19. Meetings and Plans

**Meetings and Moving On**

Sasuke blanched at the punishemnt he had been assigned. Even with a defered punishment now, if he screwed up in the eyes of anyone, he would lose everything. He could only nod and accept the 'justice' of the Hokage. Jiraiya took Sasuke to a nearby room to apply his containment seal.

Once Jiraiya had applied the containment seal and Sasuke had been taken home, Sarutobi looked at everyone in the room; Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi and Ibiki. "This private council is made up of all those I deem worthy of following me, as being candidates for Hokage. I value all of your opinions highly and I need honesty here. Ibiki, you are far enough away from the situation to be non-biased. What is your opinion on this Uchiha problem?"

"Honestly, I would say kill him now and save us all the trouble. He is a bad one Hokage-sama. His whole posture was screaming he has no respect for any of us. He told the truth as he sees it but he is still hiding a lot from us."

Sarutobi nodded. "I have thought about that. I feel he is still salvageable in some form. At the moment, he is still a greater asset to the village than he is a liability. I wish there was some way to get through to the boy. Itachi messed his mind up so badly that even the Yamanaka Clan will not go into his head. We tried the loving approach for too long with him. The bigger stick approach will have to do."

"Kakashi, I want you to remain his jonin trainer for at least the next month. Use what Sharingan tricks you have to get into the boy's head. I will assign your other genin to Kurenai for the time being. Both have solid clans to fall back on so they will not lack for training." Kakashi nodded.

"Other business now. Tsunade how is the Haruno girl?" Sarutobi asked.

"She is stable but we are keeping her in the hospital for a few days. You can never be too careful on lightning jutsu. They can mess up a body's system in more ways then we know how to fix. Also, I have been getting some resistance from the hospital staff over the new training I told them about this afternoon."

Good, keep on that. Work your new training programs into the hospital. Reassign whomever you wish. It is your department now and you have a free hand." Tsunade grinned at that. She had a few ideas that would make some of the more complacent medical staff cry.

"Jiraiya, what happened with Naruto in there this morning?"

Jiraiya smirked, "Simple explanation. He saw his teammate get fried and went ballistic. He unconsciously pulled enough chakra from inside the seal of his to make us all combined look weak. If not for the chakra seals I keep with me knocking him out, he would have dove down to the floor of the place and shredded the Uchiha and anyone who got in his way. I looked over the seal on his stomach before I removed the suppression seal. There is no damage to it that I can see."

Ibiki shook his head, "How can a 12 year old have so much normal chakra anyhow? Most jinchuuriki go mad long before this but the kid is fully functional. He has a chakra presence as large as or larger than most jonin I know. All the times I met him I could feel it. It is all his, none of it demonic whatsoever."

"It has to do with the nature of the seal Minato used. Most seals used on jinchuuriki as designed to let the demonic chakra flow throughout the body of the container. The people doing the sealing wanted weapons so they never develop their own chakra to any extent. The one Minato used does not let the demonic chakra mingle directly. It is all contained within the seal itself and the seal is powered by the boy's own chakra. Imagine the toughest training regimen for chakra building you can conceive of, and then double or triple it. Then have it going on 24 hours a day for nearly 13 years. The chakra we see in Naruto right now is merely his EXCESS chakra. It is the part that is not needed to maintain the seal holding in the Kyuubi. Any times he uses the demonic chakra is under conditions of extreme mental stress when he actually pulls it through the seal."

Ibiki whistled softly. "That is some kid."

Jiraiya smiled, "Yup, and to top it off, he is loyal, kind hearted and relatively well adjusted, in spite of the treatment he has had over the years."

Sarutobi cut in now, "Jiraiya, this will be trouble for you but I need you out gathering information on Orochimaru and his plans. I need you to get with all of the contacts you can over the next 3 weeks to find out everything you can about Orochimaru and that group Akatsuki. I have already received word via messenger summons that the Raikage wishes to attend the Finals this year. Apparently, he had one in the area observing and had his interest piqued by one or more genin. If he gets permission from the Daimyo, he will come with his bodyguard, Nii Yugito. That will mean there will be three bijuu jinchuuriki in one place at one time. That bothers me greatly. It is too much of an enticement to pass up. I fear something will happen."

Jiraiya looked at Sarutobi, "What about Naruto? He is in the Finals and specifically my apprentice. I don't feel right about just leaving him with Anko. It is not fair to her with Tsunade being involved in the hospital. It had been agreed upon earlier that I would be the field sensei for the apprentices."

"Hmm, let me think on that one, Jiraiya. I will have answer for you before you need to leave town to meet with your contacts. It is getting late and we need to get started on our plans. I will see most of you tomorrow at the arena to assign the matches for the Finals."

* * *

The Konoha Arena stood high over Naruto's head in the morning sun. Naruto had never been inside of it before. No one would sell him a ticket to the previous Chunin Exam so he had to miss it. A chunin directed him to a tunnel that led to the arena floor. He found several people waiting but he was relieved that he was not the last to arrive. Shortly, Jiraiya arrived and stood with Naruto. A clock in the distance struck nine and the Hokage walked in followed by Kakashi and Sasuke. Naruto bristled a bit at seeing the primadonna but Jiraiya just put his hand on Naruto and motioned for him to calm down. Naruto took a few deep breaths and regained his composure. Jiraiya smiled, 'Good job, Naruto. Keeping it professional is hard but it is the best way.'

Sarutobi smiled at the 8 genin and their sensei. The three from the Sand shared the same one so he merely stood behind his team. Kurenai stood behind Shino in place of Kakashi. "It has been decided that Uchiha Sasuke was still acting within the letter of the rules when he won his match, so he will continue into the Finals. He has been warned that such conduct will not be tolerated in the future and suitably punished for use of an assassination jutsu in the tournament. I am also informing Gaara of the Desert that his use of his Sand Funeral technique is forbidden as well. Jutsu designed to cause quick death are now prohibited from use when the Chunin Exams are in Konoha."

Sasuke just stood with a frown on his face as the other Leaf genin all looked over at him before paying attention to Sarutobi once more.

"Today, we will get back to what should have been finished yesterday. The 8 of you will draw lots to determine who you will face in a month's time for the Finals."

Hayate walked down the line of genin with a box and each one took a number.

"3" read Kankuro.

"6" read Temari.

"1" read Gaara.

"5" read Shikamaru.

"8" read Naruto.

"2" read Rock Lee.

"4" read Shino.

"7" read Sasuke.

A chunin had been recording the names as the numbers were read off. He handed a paper to Hayate who read off the matches.

First Match Gaara no Sabaku vs. Rock Lee

Second Match: Kankuro no Sabaku vs. Aburame Shino

Third Match: Nara Shikamaru vs. Temari no Sabaku

Fourth Match: Uchiha Sasuke vs. Uzumaki Naruto.

"The winner of the First and Second Matches will fight in the Fifth Match and the winner of the Third and Fourth Matches will fight in the Sixth Match. There will be a special Seventh match for two genin to be decided who lost in the first four matches to give the finalist a short break. The Final will have the winners of the Fifth and Sixth Matches."

"Any questions?" Hayate asked.

None of the genin had any so they were dismissed.

* * *

The three Sand genin were led by their jonin sensei, Baki out of the village. They would travel for 2 days to train for 3 weeks in their own country away from prying Leaf eyes. The border outpost they were to stay at was remarkably well manned for a border with an ally.

* * *

Sakura lay in her bed just staring at the ceiling. She wanted to get out of here and away from all the darn tests. She knew from her training that the tests were important to insure the patient was healthy but she did not like they were being performed on her. Her mother had stopped by early and was much more composed than Sakura had ever seen her. It seems that her mother's breakdown with her father had some benefits but only time would tell if they held. Sakura just enjoyed the lack of nagging and smiled for her mother at all the appropriate places.

The hospital was relatively quiet this and no nurses had been by to check since breakfast when Hinata came in. The Hyuuga smiled at her teammate and fellow apprentice. "I wish you could see what is happening outside, Sakura."

"What's up?"

"Well, with you in here, me on light duty for a week and Naruto going to his finals meeting this morning; Anko-sensei was going nuts with no one to torture, um 'train', today. But as luck would have it, Tsunade-sensei was given control of all medical personnel by the Hokage. It turns out many of the medic ninja we do have are sorely out of shape since they hang around the hospital all day."

Sakura could already see where this was heading. Tsunade had been livid about the training most of the medical corps had and had made her displeasure known often. Since she never took an official place in the command structure, there was little she could do but advise. She giggled softly as Hinata continued.

"So, this morning after a quick meeting, Tsunade called in her new PT advisor, Anko-sensei. All medical personnel who hold a ninja rank will have to train under Anko 2 days a week in a group. I think the only thing that could make her happier right now would be free dango." Hinata giggled herself at that. "All civilians are being 'encouraged' to get fit themselves. Tsunade-sensei said 'In the future, the only guts I want to see hanging over a belt in this hospital had better be from a patient with a belly wound'. She wants the medical corps to be respected again. No ninja respects a fat doctor who tells them to exercise more."

Sakura nodded in agreement. She had seen a huge difference in herself the past year since she had begun taking training seriously. Getting somewhat fit the months before graduation had nearly doubled her chakra at the time. Under Anko's fierce training regimen, that doubling seemed to occur each month. One standard Anko was trying to reach in the team was one of mythic stature; to run 50 miles (80 km) in the morning without chakra then to fight and win a battle in the afternoon. Only a pair of Konoha ninja could reach that goal at this time, Gai and Kakashi.

The girls chatted away the rest of the morning with the usual girl things; boys, clothes, boys and the shortcomings of other girls. By unspoken agreement, neither Naruto nor Sasuke was mentioned.

Shortly before lunch, Naruto knocked on the door. Both girls smiled at him as his smile was one not normally seen on the blonde. Naruto looked like predator and grinned like his prey was in front of him helpless. It looked out of place on his features.

"I got Sasuke in the first fight. I am so going to pulverize him for what he did to you Sakura," he almost bragged.

Sakura looked at Hinata who also looked concerned about this darkness to Naruto's normally sunny disposition today. Sakura looked down and after a few moments quietly said, "No, Naruto."

The blonde was pulled up short by Sakura's soft voice, "But, why not? He hurt you intentionally! He should get hurt in return for doing that to you!"

Sakura shook her head, "Not like this, Naruto. Yes, he should be punished but not by you, not for revenge. Fight him because he needs to lose. Fight him because he has to learn that even he is not the best. Fight him to show your skills but never fight him for vengeance. You have seen what that has done to Sasuke. A few years ago, he was everything in the world I wanted but he lost his way. His path is leading him to destruction, Naruto. Don't go down path that like him."

Naruto's smile had faded as Sakura spoke. "I just wanted him to pay for hurting you. It felt like he was beating up on my sister when he put you in here, if I had a sister."

"A sister, huh? I can live with that," Sakura smiled at Naruto who began to smile in his seldom seen honest heartfelt smile that made both girls want to hug him. Sakura laughed and grinned mischievously, "Now then you had better listen to your big sister and train hard or no ramen for you!"

"Whaaaa?! No ramen! But I need ramen, Sakura," Naruto whined.

Hinata spoke up now to tease the boy more, "Then you had better train to win or we will tell Ichiraku-san and Ayame-san that you did not earn it."

Naruto's increased acceptance and notoriety following the Academy fire had helped the small ramen stand thrive. Teuchi and his daughter had been more than willing to adjust the recipe to their ramen at Hinata's suggestion. In addition to the bits of meat they always added, each bowl had a full serving of vegetables in it. Tsunade had tried to get the boy off ramen completely once but after a frank discussion with Teuchi and his soup ladle in her face, she compromised after seeing his recipe. If they would use less salt in it, she would stop in once a while as well. Ichiraku's was well on its way to becoming a restaurant in its own right now as the old man kept adding menu items like 'diet' ramen and dango and drinks like sake and various teas.

Hinata had gotten the idea early on to tell Teuchi when Naruto slacked off from training. At one point during the pranking days, Hinata was so upset at Naruto missing a meeting to gorge himself on ramen that she told the stand owner. The man wanted the boy to succeed so he set up a policy of no ramen for Naruto if he slacked off and did not 'earn' it. It only took one week of no ramen to make Naruto realize the man was serious. Ayame soothed things over with the boy but the lesson was learned.

Naruto sped out of the room with the cry of, "I need to find that pervy teacher and get to training!"

The girls looked at each other, rolled their eyes and laughed before going back to 'girl talk'.

* * *

Naruto searched for Jiraiya for several hours before he was called into the Hokage's office by a messenger. Grumbling, Naruto waited for the meeting and was surprised to find 3 people waiting for him in the office. The Old Man was in his usual seat but sitting on the couch were Jiraiya and Hyuuga Hiashi. Puzzled, Naruto began to back out until he was called in to sit by the Old Man.

"Naruto, you have not disturbed anything. We were just discussing you and your training for the next month. I need Jiraiya to be out of the village on business and that would leave you without an instructor for your match with Uchiha Sasuke."

"Out of the village? But, why?" Naruto asked.

"Konoha business, Naruto," Jiraiya put in. "If it was not important, I would not be going and leaving you like this. But, lucky for you, Hyuuga-san here has graciously accepted to teach you during the month until Finals."

"Um, ok. Hinata has said you only train members of your clan. Why change that for me?"

"Let us just call it settling an old debt, Naruto. I will not be teaching you Hyuuga techniques but rather helping you refine things you already know from a different perspective. You have never faced off in a serious fight with someone possessing a doujutsu and you will be facing one in the Finals. My nephew Neji will also be working with me and the two of you may have need of a sparring partner. Of course, working out with the pair of you will satisfy my new reserve jonin training physical requirements for Tsunade-san. We all benefit from this situation."

Naruto was upset that Jiraiya would be gone but it had happened often enough that it was not a major surprise. The more surprising thing was how fast Tsunade was implementing her new programs in the hospital and village. Since the medical corps set the minimal physical standards all ninja must follow, that now fell under her supervision. The stricter standards for kunoichi and genin had been pushed through months before but the people in charge of higher rankings had been reluctant to push up the standards in peacetime for chunin, jonin, and reserves. Even the Hokage would be getting out of his office one day per week for PT now. She had not even been in charge of things for 24 hours and already had the system in place. Naruto shuddered thinking about what else Tsunade might have already planned and waiting for everyone.

"Thank you, Hyuuga-sama," Naruto said politely and bowed. He could do little else in front of the Hokage. Sarutobi had drilled the boy extensively on protocol during the months of authorized pranking and reports with clan leaders. Naruto had to act properly in situations that required it since he now understood that clan leaders held the keys to the Hokage's door. If he were ever to get the Hat, he needed support and manners were the first step to respect.

Hiashi smiled at how far the boy had come since that terrible fire. The boy still had the same manic energy he always had but it had been tempered greatly first by Hinata's influence and later by the Sannin. A Naruto with control was much more dangerous than a Naruto simply running wild like an idiot. Hiashi smiled a small bit larger as he recalled Jiraiya's lecture a long time before, 'It's all about control'.

* * *

Sunset had Konoha's night life severely muted tonight. Too many ninja were at home and the pharmacy was short on ointments and blister cream. Tsunade hoisted some sake and toasted the village. They might be hurting now, but in the long term she would be having less work.

* * *

Next Chapter: Many Taskmasters

* * *

End Notes: Yes, more filler. I am getting all my plot points in place to get into the next section of the story. Things will get more active next chapter as the preparation for the Finals begins in earnest. This chapter spanned the evening after and the first day following the Preliminaries. The beginning of this chapter was originally slated to be included in the previous one but I felt on proofreading that the impact of Sasuke's sentence would be lessened by further storytelling. Also, the remainder of this one was originally to be part of the one to come but like the one before, a natural stopping point was reached.

Review Notes: The fate of Sasuke was a hot topic in the reviews. Most who stated an opinion want him dead, maimed or both. It is good to have a villain that makes such a reaction. I hope my Orochimaru later gets a similar response.

Hinata is not a snake summoner. I did mention that in a previous chapter. Hiashi said no and Anko is not the contract holder. Her 'Arms of the Dancing Asp' is a genjutsu to hide her Gentle / Flowing Fist attacks. Simply building off the impression that she has snake jutsu by being Anko's apprentice is the key to it working. So there will be no impressing Manda any time soon.


	20. Many Taskmasters

Chapter 20: Many Taskmasters

Sakura slowly walked out of the hospital with her parents. Her pace was slowed more by the amount of gifts she was burdened with than from her healed wounds. It seemed everyone who disliked an Uchiha at some point in their life had sent her something. Her father was more laden down than she was. In addition to the gifts, she had several dozen requests for dates and 3 marriage proposals. Those scared the girl. She passed those letters to Anko to deal with. She was just barely 13 and the idea of a 40 yr old wanting to marry her was quite disturbing.

The light outside blinded her for a moment when a small cheer sounded in front of her. Peering around the items she carried, she saw a majority of the 'Rookie 9' waiting for her. The six genin in front of her all reached up to relieve Sakura of her burden. Naruto grinned from the front of the group.

"I invited everyone else, well almost. Shino is off with his father training already so he could not come." The rest of 'Team Apprentice', Team 10 and Kiba with Akamaru were all waiting for her.

She smiled softly and blushed a bit at the friendship they all showed her. She was the last one of their group still in the hospital but Choji still had a cast on his hand from the broken bones. He was scheduled to have them healed by a medic ninja later in the week once all the serious wounds in the hospital to foreign genin were healed.

Team Gai was not present but that was due more to them being unfamiliar to the group. People would also refer to the rookies plus Team Gai as 'the Twelve'. They were the four youngest teams to be entered and of all the teams Konoha had fielded; only they made it to the elimination rounds. Sakura on the other hand had already become familiar with the one named Rock Lee. The strange boy had huge bushy eyebrows and wore a tacky green unitard with orange leg warmers. His shouts about the 'power of youth' had nearly set back Sakura's release as she tried to knock herself unconscious during his rant yesterday while asking Sakura out on a date. Fortunately, Shizune had heard the shouts and threw the boy out. Sakura last saw him doing vertical pushups in the hospital courtyard. She hoped he would not find out where she lived.

With the boys helping her father with the heavier items and the girls sharing the load of the stuffed animals, Sakura was led home. Smiling as she got to her room for the first time in over a week, she had the boys leave the items in the living room and shooed them out while Hinata and Ino disappeared into her room with her.

The boys; Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji; all wandered off to their training. Choji would watch Shikamaru and Asuma spar. Kiba would be get tracking tips in a genjutsu by Kurenai and some easier D rank missions that could be performed solo. Naruto headed to the training field next to the Hyuuga estate.

* * *

Hiashi was not as much of a taskmaster as Anko was, but in his own way he was just as demanding. "My training will be different than what you have experienced before Naruto. First, we shall go through your entire library of jutsu. I will help you master them as opposed to simply know them. You throw chakra into your jutsu like Tsunade throws money away at gambling. It is wasteful and needs to be corrected."

As promised, the first day Hiashi had Naruto got through every one of his known jutsu, including the supposedly worthless ones like the Sexy jutsu and ones he had created for pranks. The entire time, Hiashi had watched him with his Byakugan activated and would merely nod and say 'next jutsu' after he observed each one. Once all of his known jutsu had been shown, Hiashi had Naruto show him the incomplete jutsu along with their intended purpose. When Naruto was attempting to show the second stage of training in the Rasengan, Hiashi looked interested. Naruto was having trouble getting the power to increase until Hiashi corrected his initial start rotation so it went with his normal chakra flow instead of against. Naruto managed to add twice the power of any of his previous attempts after that correction. Hiashi dismissed the boy for the day with instructions for Naruto to think of five possible uses for every one of his 'prank' jutsu in a tactical situation by the end of the week.

The second day was much more interesting to Naruto. Once more, Hiashi was having him perform his jutsu, but each time the Hyuuga would make small corrections in the standard ones Naruto knew. In some it was in hand signs. In others, it was informing him of his using too much chakra and overloading the jutsu. Naruto would make the corrections and became pleased to see immediate results. Hiashi would have him perform the jutsu correctly five times before moving to the next one. Hiashi was sparse on verbal praise. Naruto noticed that Hiashi would give short nod when pleased and scowled deeper when disappointed. The nods increased as the day continued and made Naruto perform better.

For the personal jutsu which Naruto created, Hiashi was slightly more critical. He told Naruto what his chakra was doing in each case. Together, they altered the hand sign sequence on several to get better flow and results. Once a solid new sequence was developed, the pair then worked on Naruto's level of chakra input into the jutsu. Naruto was growing to understand much better how his chakra worked within any jutsu and himself. He was able to make corrections to improve his personal ones before Hiashi even could suggest them. The final jutsu was accomplished shortly after dark and a tired but very satisfied Naruto went home.

Naruto already learned several new things about his chakra in the two days of training so far. The Kyuubi's chakra was not a continuous presence in his system. The seal on his body intermittently leaked a tiny fraction into his system. At the same time, a fraction of Naruto's chakra 'polluted' the Kyuubi. This was the reason for several of Naruto's problems. The 'red' chakra disrupted his personal 'blue' chakra so that his system did not use a steady flow. The amount flowing into the Kyuubi would bind the Kitsune to him when he died. The rest was that the seal itself reacted to Naruto's demand for chakra. Hiashi observed Naruto with his blood limit active and noted all of the chakra flows in the boy. Demonic chakra flashed into Naruto's system each time he used a high class ninjutsu. His shadow clones allowed the charka to disperse into the clones and not harm his body greatly.

During chakra intensive jutsu like the Rasengan, the 'red' remained in his system longer which would make his control suffer. The 'red' chakra was not under his direct control so it made any jutsu harder to pull off. Hiashi saw he needed to teach Naruto better control before continuing onto high level training. Naruto needed to do more with less chakra so that his seal would not drain it all off or release so much 'red' chakra into his system. Naruto could get a temporary power boost by stripping chakra from the seal at the cost of passing out afterwards as the drain to maintain the seal asserted itself.

In spite of the control problems, Hiashi was pleased that Naruto was such a hands-on pupil. Hiashi disliked talking as a lecturer and preferred to teach by actions. The Gentle Fist style was a highly disciplined taijutsu art that needed much hard work to master. Hiashi was used to getting results that way.

Hiashi was becoming impressed by Naruto. The boy was definitely much more than anyone had imagined. Even Hinata was not aware of the untapped potential in the boy. Hiashi saw Naruto's biggest weakness was that he bored easily when lectured. He had much better understanding of theory if he could see how things worked. He adapted well to new ideas, took constructive criticism well and strived to improve on himself at every turn. Hiashi could even notice some of the more subtle influences of Hinata on some of Naruto's jutsu. If only people had given him a chance earlier in his life, the boy would have been passed his first genin exam, possibly as rookie of the year in his class.

Naruto was so glad that Hiashi took a hands-on approach. He loved Iruka like a father but the lectures were so boring. He was pleased in having a teacher that enjoyed hard work. At home, Naruto pulled out a scroll and tried to do his homework. He listed each of his prank jutsu and tried to think of useful applications for each. He did not want to disappoint Hiashi-sensei.

* * *

Hinata found herself as the assistant PT instructor for Anko. Her job was to set the pace for the running potion of training while having her Byakugan active. With her doujutsu active she could see all the people ahead and behind her and tell who was using chakra to buoy their performance. Anko would have none of that in her sessions. All physical exercise needed to be just that, physical. No chakra allowed. The one time Hinata felt pity for one of the medics was the only time. Anko had her running at top speed around Konoha with a cart sized snake summon after her when she did not report the offender.

Anko addressed her panting genin afterwards, "I am not doing this to be mean or sadistic, Hinata. I am doing this because it is my job. All of these medics need every bit of their chakra in the field for one purpose, to heal the wounded and save those lives. They cannot do that if they are burning it all on themselves to get from place to place. The other benefit I am sure you are aware of. By doing things the physical way, you actually increase your chakra levels. They will not only be getting to a battle with all of their chakra they will be having more of it available when they get there. Letting them cheat now is what they have been getting away with for years. You are not serving Konoha by protecting liars and cheats. You are serving the best interest of every ninja who goes into harms way by doing it. Do you understand that?"

Hinata nodded and reported every cheater after that. The ones who were honest and trained like they should have been appreciated her efforts and the fact that she was in their midst running as they were. The cheaters grumbled at first but when Anko reminded them of Hinata's punishment for not telling, they kept it to themselves. No one cheated in sessions with Hinata present again.

Hinata actually liked the training by the second session. Her needing to keep her Byakugan active for over an hour while running and searching for chakra usage was a good training tool for her eyes. She had to focus to pick up the chakra variances around her as well as keep her running pace.

Anko seemed to see she was growing more comfortable and would increase the pace required of everyone. But Anko, being Anko, needed to keep things lively so after the first week kunai throwing was introduced to the running and keeping up the pace was required while dodging.

* * *

Sasuke was slowly beginning to hate Kakashi more than ever. The jonin was actually being on time for training and pushed the Uchiha harder than he had ever been pushed. The only bright spot in all of this was that he was not being saddled with those losers from Team 7 any longer. That was also a bad point as well. Since Kakashi could focus 100 percent of his effort on Sasuke, he did.

Sasuke was being made to run until he dropped in the mornings. He had to repeatedly do jutsu each afternoon until he mastered it to Kakashi's satisfaction before learning another. The learning was upsetting him just as much. He was forced to learn them manually. He could not use his Sharingan to simply copy them. Why could they not understand he needed MORE jutsu, powerful jutsu that could defeat his brother? He needed to get stronger and all of this remedial work Kakashi was forcing on him was wearing at his patience. D and C rank jutsu were not making him stronger.

Kakashi barked at him again for daydreaming. "If you have time to scowl, Sasuke, you are not working hard enough."

"Hai, Sensei," Sasuke choked out. He hated having to be polite but Kakashi insisted on him using proper manners now even if he did not mean them.

Kakashi sighed under his mask once more. He disliked this situation immensely. Sasuke was getting more unstable with time. The boy tuned him out when the jonin tried to explain the reasons for the pace that was being set. Running built speed, stamina and raised chakra levels. Filling in the training time with learning lower ranked jutsu gave Sasuke a more rounded training. Lower ranked jutsu could be performed more often and extend the usable time daily for training. The biggest reason for Kakashi's training style was that using the Sharingan to copy jutsu was an incomplete process. It gave someone the knowledge of how to move the chakra and the hand signs but it imparted no wisdom in how to use the copied technique. It was only through training and hard work that the best uses of the jutsu were learned. Sasuke just wanted more powerful jutsu and did not care to learn more than that.

If Kakashi had followed that logic, he could teach Sasuke jutsu that would kill the boy from chakra drain and still not tap into the most powerful ones Kakashi knew. More than once he was tempted to do just that. Kakashi decided to finish for the day before he gave in this time.

"Ok, Sasuke that is enough for today."

"But why? There are still several hours of daylight left," Sasuke complained.

Kakashi frowned. "Because I have other things that need doing. My life is more than being your teacher. You also need to see the counselor so you had better not be late. Remember, no training on your own. Be back here tomorrow at 9."

'I am not some child to be brushed aside, Kakashi,' Sasuke thought. 'I am an Uchiha and I will get revenge for your insults.'

The counselor was a civilian. Sasuke just lied skillfully and made it sound like he was beginning to come to terms with his past.

'All too easy,' he thought as he walked home.

* * *

Shikamaru walked into the bar his father frequented. He saw the original Ino-Shika-Cho trio all drinking together. The large red headed Akimichi Choza was talking loudly and hoisting an impossibly voluminous flagon of some foreign drink called mead. The blonde Yamanaka Inoichi was busy smooth talking the waitress while wielding a kunai in a deft but dashing manner. Shikaku, his darker haired father merely sat with a grim face as he was too bored to make an impression on the people around him.

Shikamaru walked up to his father and nudged the man. "Dad, I made it to the Chunin Exam finals and I need some help training on my shadow techniques."

Shikaku grumbled at the nudge and muttered, "Troublesome."

"Well, it's not like I planned on it, Dad. It was either ask you myself or tell Mom and have her find you. I made it easier for both of us this way."

Shikaku thought for a moment then nodded in agreement. He stood and went to his friends, "I have to go train Shikamaru in family jutsu for a while. Maybe you two could do the same for your kids. Keep Tsunade-sama from being too troublesome with her new programs."

Inoichi and Choza both nodded at the suggestion. Shikaku rarely suggested anything to their team outside of missions but his advice normally kept them out of trouble. Plus helping the kids out would make things easier with the wives.

* * *

Sakura was finally getting back to light training. A week of forced inactivity after several days in a hospital bed really showed in her case. Her first morning of running with the medical corps got her winded quickly. Luckily for her, Anko did not send any kunai her way like some of the others. Apparently, Anko's idea of 'light training' was no attempts at maiming the victim, um trainee. Sakura's hardest moment came when the group passed the training fields on its run around Konoha. She saw Sasuke being trained hard by Kakashi. The white haired jonin was standing with his arms crossed and his orange book nowhere in sight while the brooding boy was doing wind sprints. She unconsciously slowed until Anko was behind her yelling at her to keep up the pace. Sakura pushed aside her thoughts and concentrated on finishing the warm up jog.

Sakura was pleased that her endurance was mostly intact. She recovered quickly from the run and faced the other exercises with determination. A random thought occurred to her that both she and Hinata were in this medic group and for them it was considered 'light training'. Compared to their normal regimen, it certainly was. It gave her some time to think if she just allowed herself to go with the rest of the herd. She was not feeling bad from her recent wound but it was something that bothered her. She had almost died and having faced death had left its mark on her. She had lost that feeling of immortality that youth gives a person.

Her thoughts on the subject were pushed aside as the day progressed. But her worry found an outlet in her training with Tsunade that afternoon. Her focus on her healing jutsu increased as she now understood better the consequences of failure.

Tsunade saw the look on Sakura's face and sighed. Sakura was going to be better than Shizune at healing soon if this new focus was any indication. She just wished the price of the girl's improvement had not been so high.

* * *

Naruto sweated under the keen eye of Hiashi. The boy wondered how much the Hyuuga clan leader actually knew about taijutsu. After spending nearly a week on his ninjutsu, the man had Naruto constantly in motion on his fighting forms. The second week of workouts had Naruto almost relearning his Academy basics. Hiashi felt there was no room for error on all basic fighting movements and insisted that Naruto learn how to move properly. The use of a shadow clone sped this up drastically. Being able to actually hit someone was the difference in simply knowing the motions and seeing how the correct strikes mattered. Naruto not only learned how to hit but the memories of the dispersed clones allowed him to immediately know the results of his actions and failures at defending. Small things added up quickly and Naruto's level in taijutsu climbed from low genin to near chunin in the first few hours.

Naruto's performance the next day was so improved that Hiashi allowed the boy to demonstrate his own variation on the basic forms with his use of massed shadow clone attacks. Together the pair realized that the mental impact on Naruto was different based on the amount of chakra used in the formation of a clone. More focus in creation led to a clone that could take several hits before dispersing but took many times the chakra of a 'normal' clone Naruto used in combat. These clones gave Naruto the most information when dispelled. Single purpose clones with little more intelligence than a drone had no impact on Naruto at all.

By the end of two weeks of intense work and refinement on Naruto, Hiashi pronounced him fit to 'face Neji without completely embarrassing himself'.

* * *

Hinata and Sakura both looked around on near terror as they were being hunted down.

Their evasion training was getting increasingly more difficult. Today was a massive game of 'keep away' against an army of snake and slug summons. Each girl had a water balloon to protect and get to the finish line without it breaking. In theory it was an easy task but against the creatures and their teachers, it became close to hopeless.

Speed was not an option as both girls were slower than their opponents. Instead the girls needed to focus on both dodging and selected counterattacks while keeping their charge safe from harm. Losing the balloon meant they would have to begin again. So far, the girls had zero successes.

Hinata struggled back to her feet as the water balloon in her hands remained intact after the last skirmish. 'Who would have thought that slugs and snakes would work together on strategy?' she thought. As she looked over at Sakura rising from the ground as well she had a new thought. 'We are getting double teamed and forgetting that we are a team as well.'

Hinata got over to the pink haired girl, "Sakura, carry this for me, I will protect us against the summons." Sakura nodded and cradled both balloons close to her body as Hinata rushed the line of creatures between the girls and the finish line. The melee that followed could barely be described as a battle. With both hands free and the power of her taijutsu, Hinata made short work of the summons and the pair dashed to the finish line.

The teachers glared down at the genin. "Who said that one of you could carry both balloons while the other would fight?" Anko growled. Hinata looked back at her with only a small trace of fear, "Sensei, it was not forbidden to do so. We are part of a team after all." Sakura nodded a touch more meekly both stood her ground against Tsunade's glare. The girls both gawked when the teachers broke out into grins and said, "Well done."

"The purpose of the exercise was not to reach the finish line. It was to make you see that teamwork can succeed where individual effort migth fail. Making you see it in a situation that you were never told to use it was the best way to get you to think of such things."

* * *

Jiraiya was heading back to Konoha. His spy network was at a loss on what was happening. The lack of information had made him nearly a week late in his return. 'Sensei and Naruto are both going ot be pissed at me. All I could find out about Orochimaru's village is it is not a single base but scattered ones. Well, I had better hurry if I am going to get back to Konoha before the Finals start'.

* * *

The blowing sand in the Wind Country desert was not a kind place to camp in. The genin team prepared to leave back to Konoha. They looked back a single time at the gathered army in the dunes before heading for the border.

* * *

The rice fields made a rustling sound as the feet of many ninja trod atop the levees around the fields. Hundreds of ninja in gray camouflage moved toward the line of trees that signaled the border of Rice Country and Fire Country. The Chunin Exam Finals would begin in two days and then war would be coming to the Fire Country in the form of the planned destruction of Konoha. Orochimaru looked at his minions and pawns and laughed. The Sound echoed among the reeds and into the trees. 'Soon, it will all be as I planned'.

Next Chapter: Exam Finals, The Fighting Begins

* * *

End Notes: I am satisfied but not pleased with this chapter. I have much more in store for all the characters but getting there is not always easy. I do not like to rehash all the minor points of training. There is only so much you can do with basic training sequences. I intentionally left holes as far as what Naruto learned fighting Neji because I would give up too much away. The Sand siblings are less of a factor so far in my story as they are not really one until the invasion.

I love the Ino-Shika-Cho parents. The first time I saw them I knew they got lifted from Thor's Warriors Three, Shikaku being Hogun the Grim, Inoichi being Fandrall the Dashing and Choza being Volstagg the Voluminous. Even the appearances, colors and attitudes match. I pay them tribute in mention at least

Review Notes: Hiashi's training past what I put will be secret for now. I will be closer to canon as far as the battles between Shikamaru / Temari and Gaara / Lee but with my own spin on things in those fights.

Sasuke will receive everything Naruto thinks he deserves in his upcoming battle.

Last time on Hinata. Hinata is not on the Snake contract for 3 main reasons  
1) Hiashi does not want her on it  
2) She does not have the chakra to really pull off a decent size summon yet  
3) I don't want her on it.

Itachi and Akatsuki will be coming along eventually. I am not sure what I think of that swerve the manga put out yet so I will wait and decide what fits my story best. Uchiha Madara is a liar and not really a great source of information so he might even have told Sasuke whatever it took to get the boy on his side.

One I missed last time, Choji had bones in his hand broken, not his fingers. It was a couple of bones in the palm area. It was enough to disrupt use of most of his fingers on that hand at once.

* * *

Parting Shot: You will never see anyone running "a hundred laps around Konoha" in one of my stories. The idea in itself is ludicrous. It is easily a distance of OVER 500 miles. Worse, it is bad storytelling to use such exaggerated numbers. I have read where writers use that distance as a daily warm-up for the ninja.


	21. The Fighting Begins

The Chunin Exam finals are about to begin. Something is going on at the borders of the Fire Country as a trek toward Konoha is in progress.

Chapter 21: The Fighting Begins

The daimyos were assembled in a hall in the Fire capital. Konoha was an hour's ride away by ceremonial cart. Sarutobi moved among the crowd as he over heard minor conversations. More diplomacy was carried out at the various Chunin Exams than in any other place. All the major leaders considered the place neutral ground as long as they were not at war. Those minor countries hostile to one another merely pretended their enemy did not exist and mingled with other leaders.

Sarutobi sipped at his glass of water as he looked out into the room. He hated these political functions but they went with being a leader. He saw the Raikage standing with the daimyo of Lightning Country. At least it was not the same man who demanded the body of a Hyuuga when the kidnapping of Hinata at age 3 went bad and the agent died at the hands of the angry Hyuuga brothers. Two months later the military coup deposed the sadist who ran the military there. The current Raikage had returned the body of Hizashi as a token of good faith in new peace negotiations. Things had been quiet with the Cloud since then. The younger man spotted Sarutobi and worked his way over to the aged Hokage.

"Ah, Sarutobi-dono. I am glad I got to run into you. I am looking forward to the matches tomorrow. This year promises to be quite interesting. I like the odds on some of them. I plan to be taking a lot of cash home from this one. A shame for you the odds makers dislike the Uzumaki so much."

"Really? Why do you say that, Saito-dono?"

"After Whirlpool country was 'annexed' by the Water country a few of the refugees settled in the south coast of our lands. A few of the refugees were called Uzumaki. Brash redheads with attitudes but they were skilled ninja. They were always keeping their word. My predecessor wiped them out when they would not serve him. The half dozen of them took down nearly a platoon in their battle. I got interested when the message of the Finals got out and I saw an Uzumaki on the list."

The Raikage continued, "Most of the daimyos are here to see the Uchiha. They were nothing but an arrogant clan of thieves in my book. I wanted to see an Uzumaki fight again. I was surprised however when I found out that he is a blonde. The ambassador in the capital sent me some information after meeting the boy some months ago with his team and their instructors. Making yourself a new generation of Sannin, eh? If those kids turn out half as good as the first group, I will keep telling the daimyo that war with Fire Country is not a good idea."

Sarutobi chuckled softly, "War is never a good idea, Saito-dono. I am not foolish enough to think we can end war but it should be avoided whenever possible."

The Raikage nodded, "If you cannot avoid war at least be strong enough to have your opponent know fighting you is going to cost a heavy toll. Peace through mutual destruction."

Sarutobi nodded slowly glad that a small conversation had kept peace with the Lightning Country for at least another year.

* * *

The eight finalists stood in the center of the arena at the gathered crowd. Many of the Leaf ninja and villagers were in attendance. The VIP boxes were full to bursting. The genin all bowed first to the Hokage box then to the assembled daimyos. All the daimyos were seated in a long booth, all at the highest level and in identical chairs. This was so no one leader could be singled out as being better than any other. The Hokage and Kazekage sat alone in the main booth. Since their genin were participating, they had the seats of honor. The Raikage was in the stadium but he sat with his daimyo. The stadium itself was packed with citizens of Konoha some of the more wealthy people in the Fire Country and ninja of all ages.

"Rock Lee and Gaara no Subaku remain on the floor of the arena. The rest of you go to the waiting area for your turn to battle," Hayate commanded.

Lee stood about 5 yards from Gaara while the rest of the genin filed up the stairs. Gaara merely stood and glared at Lee.

Hayate looked from one genin to the other. "I am only going to remind you once. Directly lethal techniques are forbidden. This is a showcase as well as a competition so make it look good for the daimyos. No other rules other than if I tell you to stop, you stop. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Referee-san," shouted Lee.

Gaara merely grunted and nodded.

Lee assumed a fighting stance. Gaara stood with his arms folded. Hayate backed up and the crowd roared in anticipation. "Begin!"

For a few moments nothing happened when Lee ran forward and leapt into a spinning kick shouting, "Leaf Whirlwind!" The sand from Gaara's gourd shaped container flowed out and formed a barrier that blocked the attack.

Lee followed up by continuing his rotation around the barrier to attempt a punch at Gaara's back but the sand reacted again to block the strike.

A spear of sand tried to impale Lee but the boy spun out of the line of the attack and slid to a stop a short distance away.

'That sand is my primary enemy right now. I must increase my speed to get past it. Lee backed up further from Gaara and squatted down sliding his hands under his orange leg warmers. He unclipped his hidden weights and tossed them to the side. They hit the ground with a heavy thump that impressed many older ninja who had trained with additional weight in the past.

Gaara merely stood bored of this and waved his hand in a motion at Lee as if saying 'Let's get this show on the road.'

When most people think of Rock Lee they picture his bushy eyebrows, his bowl haircut or his sickening green unitard. The ones who know him personally know he cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu and seem to think that the boy cannot use chakra at all. Only Gai himself knew the real truth in that case. Lee did have chakra. He had a great amount of it in fact. True, he was hampered but his lack of ability to express it externally. Internally was another thing entirely. His reserves all went to increasing his physical abilities; his speed, strength and endurance.

Freed from his heavy weights, Lee bounced on his toes a few times as he flooded his muscles with chakra then seemed to vanish as he moved to attack Gaara again. A blow was stopped by the sand inches from Gaara's face with a kick being stopped a split second later.

Lee jumped back a few feet then began a new attack. Taking a cue from his training and how he could wear down a post by repeated attacks on the same spot, he stepped in again and began to pummel a single point in front of Gaara with fist strikes. Several blows each second hit the sand and it was beginning to be driven back under the assault. Six inches, five inches, four inches from Gaara's face. The thickness of the sand increased and halted the advance but a roundhouse kick spun in suddenly and more sand had to rush out to stop the blow a mere inch from Gaara's head.

The sand seemed to come alive then. Lee was forced back as spikes of sand thrust at him. A single attempt at a parry almost proved a disaster for Lee when the sand tried to wrap around the hand he parried with. Lee was forced to dodge instead of blocking and was driven back away from Gaara.

The crowd roared in appreciation at the genin putting on a spectacle for them.

Lee moved to attack again, seeming to be in multiple spots at once as he used his chakra fueled speed to probe for weak spots in Gaara's defense. Even so, Gaara had yet to move from his original spot.

Lee tried pummeling a single spot again but a fist like block of sand hit him in the face and threw him back. Lee was back on his feet in an instant and wiped the blood trickling from his mouth.

'More speed,' he thought as he seemed to phase out of sight again.

Lee rushed in faster than the sand could react this time. He feinted a kick to one side and sidestepped inside of the sand's guard and hit a standing side kick to Gaara's chin. The red head flew backwards with the sand following along to cushion his fall.

* * *

"GAARA!" screamed out Temari.

"Crap, he actually hit Gaara," Kankuro muttered. "This fight is going to be over soon."

* * *

Gaara suddenly felt something new. 'Is this pain? My mouth … hurts. I don't like this 'pain' at all.' Gaara's sand stood him back up and Gaara moved for the first time in the battle. His arms lifted and he scowled at Lee.

"You hurt me! Now you will die!"

Sand flew at Lee who was forced to dodge. Each blast of sand followed snake-like after Lee. Lee was forced to keep retreating from the onslaught as more and more sand chased after him.

The minutes stretched out as Lee avoided the sand but in turn could not approach Gaara directly. Gaara seemed content to let Lee just avoid his sand and a grin developed as the Sand ninja toyed with his opponent. Onlookers could tell that Gaara could have ended the match at any time by simply enveloping Lee in sand. Lee was managing some amazing escapes of his own from the weaving pattern Gaara created.

Another ten minutes crept by with the Leaf genin avoiding capture while he could do little on offense. Each time Lee tried to stop to use a technique to open his Celestial Gates; Gaara's sand would close in on him to prevent it.

'I cannot get enough time to access more power. I do not have much left to continue this fight. If I am to win this battle it will take a great risk. If that sand hits me, I am finished,' Lee thought. He looked about the arena for anything to help him but found nothing. However, he did notice a majority of Gaara's sand was in pursuit of him.

Lee ran along the edge of the arena as Gaara remained near the middle. Lee slowed slightly so that the sand began to gather behind him. A single glance behind him was all he needed to confirm his idea.

'Now is my moment. Watch my fires burn, Gai-sensei'

Shouting out, Lee forced most of his remaining chakra into his muscles again. He increased his speed in a circle around Gaara. At least he swerved and moved like lightning at Gaara in the center of the arena. The sand continued to pursue as Lee slammed his shoulder into Gaara's chest. The impact lifted Gaara and Lee holding Gaara in his arms and pushed the red head back toward the arena wall.

There was a tremendous impact and the sand following Lee impacted as well.

No one moved or spoke as the sand slowly trickled down. Soon a shock of red hair appeared and shortly after a slumped down Rock Lee. The sand lifted the unconscious Lee off Gaara as the red head stepped away from the wall. The sand wrapped tightly around Lee as Gaara muttered, "Sand Coffin" His hand extended out with fingers slowly beginning to close. "Sand Fu…" Gaara stopped as he remembered he could be executed if he killed the Leaf ninja now.

"Referee, I am claiming to have just used my Sand Funeral technique on my opponent and he would be dead from it. As I cannot kill him due to the rules, I am claiming victory."

Hayate nodded and announced, "Winner: Gaara no Subaku."

Gaara released his sand and dropped Lee to the ground.

Medics rushed out with a stretcher and gently loaded Lee onto it as the crowd gave Gaara some sparse applause.

Gaara merely walked up to the waiting area and sat down with his arms crossed.

* * *

Reactions in the stands were mixed.

Gai was weeping at how Lee embraced the fires of his youth and gave everything he had in battle. Kakashi just looked up from his book and muttered, "Did you say something, Gai?"

Neji and Tenten were both concerned for their teammate but they could tell he was breathing fine and the medics would have things in hand.

* * *

"Wow, did you see Bushy Brows down there Shikamaru? I never knew he was so fast." Naruto gushed.

Kankuro sneered at overhearing that, "You do realize if Gaara wanted to, the green freak would have been dead in seconds. Our sensei told us to make sure we put on a good show for the crowd. The better we look out there, the more business it is going to earn out village in the next year. Keeping the daimyos happy and giving them something to wager on is another aspect of these games. If they are happy, they fund the village and lately, the daimyo of Wind Country has been holding back on us. We need to make him see we are worth funding.

* * *

"The second match will be Kankuro no Subaku against Aburame Shino," Hayate called out.

The called genin moved down to the floor of the arena and Hayate called the start of the match.

Kankuro sent his puppet out at Shino but the bug user dodged and sent a wave of kikai bugs directly at Kankuro. The puppet user leapt away leaving behind a small purple cloud that the bugs avoided.

'Poison,' Shino thought. 'I need to find a way past that defense.' Shino sent another wave of bugs to circle around Kankuro while giving a series of commands to his older colony. The older bugs crawled to the ground and disappeared.

Kankuro sent his puppet at Shino again. Kunai shot from the mouth of the puppet but these were avoided. Shino noted the poison dripping from the knives and knew a single hit could end this match.

'I need to fire the knives just slow enough for that bug boy to dodge them. I cannot let him realize there is a lethal poison on there yet.' A glance at the sun showed more than an hour before the planned start time for the mission.

Kankuro dodged a kunai with an exploding note attached. 'Trouble with this guy is I am holding back so much that he is able to focus on attacking me directly, not having to deal with the puppet.' He landed and found his footing disrupted. He fell as the ground seemed to lower beneath his feet.

Shino watched as the puppet user landed where he wanted and unleashed his trap. Kikai bugs had undermined an area and waited safely in the ground for a moment to strike. They flowed up over the Sand ninja's body and started draining his chakra. Kankuro quickly gave up.

"Winner, Aburame Shino."

The crowd applauded politely but not too enthusiastically. The match had been quick and relatively dull.

Kankuro had his puppet recover all of his weapons from the field as Shino made his way back to the observation deck.

* * *

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as the Sand ninja gathered his weapons. 'That Sand ninja was not showing that much ability during his fight with Shino. He was holding back a lot. More than what would be needed to lull opponents. Something is wrong here.'

"Next match. Naka Shikamaru against Temari no Subaku," Hayate called out.

Shikamaru walked down to the arena floor while still thinking about the Sand ninja. This was going to be troublesome. He glanced up at the sky. It was nearly noon with very few clouds in the sky. Few shadows existed in the arena for him to manipulate.

Shikamaru faced off against the beautiful blonde Sand with 4 ponytails. 'Feh, I thought she is beautiful. Troublesome hormones.' He saw her pull her battle fan from her back and got ready to move as soon as Hayate called start.

"Begin," Hayate called out and in an instant Shikamaru had done a replacement with a small rock near the trees. Temari swung her fan a moment too late to hit him and he ducked behind a tree.

The Sand kunoichi sent multiple wind blasts at the hiding shadow user but he remained behind cover. "Come out of there you coward!" she yelled out at him. Small clouds of dust hung in the air between them casting small indistinct shadows on the dirt.

A dark line of shadow rushed out at Temari who jumped back from it. She knew from the preliminaries he could capture someone with his shadow. She retreated until the shadow stopped advancing and marked the ground. The length of the shadow suddenly reduced as the cloud of dust parted letting the bright rays of the sun touch the ground between them.

"Well, if you will not come out, I will forced you out of hiding, coward!" Temari yelled again.

Temari focused chakra into her legs and jumped high into the air. She swung her battle fan down at the ground beneath her feet sending up a large cloud of dust and sand. As her jump reached its peak she twirled in a graceful move with her fan in front of her body. "Desert Winds: Dust Devil!" she shouted as she cast wind chakra through her fan into the dust cloud around her. The chakra rotated with her as she landed far from Shikamaru's hiding place. The dust and sand gathered into a tornado shaped dust devil. Temari swung her fan several more times to increase the chakra and speed in the construct before sending it toward the trees. Gale force winds pummeled the trees for nearly a minute until the dust devil dissipated. Dirt, branches and leaves drifted slowly to the ground as Temari watched for movement.

She suddenly stiffened as she felt herself lose control of her body. She found herself slowly turning and saw standing in his original location was Shikamaru. He closed the gap to get to speaking range of the blonde with his hands out like he was holding a fan like hers. Temari growled under her breath as Shikamaru spoke.

"This is a troublesome situation. I find myself in them much too often. I could just make you bash your pretty head in with your own fan right now. That would leave you unconscious for a few hours, at a minimum."

Temari had little control over her body but she was still able to speak and had control of her face. He eyes went wide when she heard 'a few hours'. She would miss the mission! She caught herself quickly but Shikamaru had seen enough. Something was definitely going on with the Sand ninja.

Shikamaru continued speaking as it he had seen nothing, "But since I have so little chakra remaining, I forfeit. You win."

The crowd was stunned when Hayate indicated that Temari was the winner of the match. Murmurs broke out all over and a mild scatter of applause rose. Shikamaru just walked off the floor and climbed the stairs to the observation deck, then tried to continue on up toward the general seating.

Naruto was livid as Shikamaru walked right past him. "Darn it Shikamaru! You had her beat. All you had to do was knock her out!"

Shikamaru looked at Naruto then over at Shino and Sasuke. Sasuke was ignoring him completely. Shino looked back as Shikamaru raised one eyebrow and twisted his head a bit. He caught Shino's nearly imperceptible nod and casually walked up the stairs with Naruto ranting to his back.

Temari just stood there in shock at being declared the winner. She was brought out of it by Hayate waving her off the arena floor. She slowly walked up the stairs in a confused state.

Once Shikamaru was out of sight of the observation deck, he began to run. He had to find Asuma-sensei and FAST.

* * *

Sarutobi was watching the matches closely. He noticed Shikamaru leave and break into a run. 'A Nara would never run if they did not need to. Something is going on.' He gestured to Hayate and sent a message down to the floor.

"There will be a 15 minute intermission before the next match between Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto," Hayate announced. A good portion of the crowd cheered while many flooded to the refreshment stands and to take care of other personal business.

* * *

Sasuke just sneered, "You get a small reprieve, Loser. I am so going to mess you up down there."

Naruto growled back, "Only one being a loser today is someone with 'uke' in their name."

Sasuke flushed angrily at Naruto but kept still. He would deal with the Loser in the match.

Naruto smiled slightly and found himself lost in thought about his training over the past two weeks.

* * *

Flashback

Once Hiashi had said Naruto was fit to face Neji, Naruto thought that he would be able to stand and fight the Hyuuga prodigy toe to toe. He was sadly mistaken. Neji had him on the ground in 3 hits, without using the Gentle Fist. Hiashi had only smiled and said, "Good, Neji. Naruto, what had you done wrong in your fight?"

Naruto groaned in pain as he stood up, "I lost?"

"A little more thought please, Naruto. Tell me what Neji's strengths are, then answer. Why did you lose?"

"Well, Neji is much better than me at taijutsu. He can see my chakra with his eyes turned on. His style can stop my chakra too."

Hiashi nodded, "A good basic analysis. So would standing directly in Neji's reach be a good idea in fighting him?"

Naruto looked down, "No, it wouldn't. I thought I was getting better but I guess I haven't."

Hiashi smiled again, "You have improved greatly in the past two weeks, Naruto. With the exception of genjutsu, your skills are chunin level already. But the issue here is thinking like a chunin. When confronted with an enemy, you must determine what their strengths and weaknesses are in order to defeat them. Neji is strong in taijutsu while it is not your greatest ability. So what would be the worst way to fight him?"

Naruto brightened up as he understood, "The worst way would be to try to fight him in taijutsu."

"Correct. Now, what is Neji's other powerful tool to fight with?"

"His eyes."

"No. His eyes are important but not his most powerful tool. His most powerful tool in battle is his mind. Without being able to think there would be no strategy, with no strategy there would be no plan, with no plan there would be no victory. It is true raw power can overcome the best strategy but it works the other way as well."

"So I need to think of something that can not only beat Neji's taijutsu but his mind as well? That is impossible. Neji is a genius," Naruto whined.

"Yes, Neji is a genius. But in your own way, you are as well Naruto. Tell me, what is the greatest prank you ever did?"

"Oh that is easy. Painting the Hokage's faces on the mountain," Naruto beamed.

"How long did it take ANBU to capture you after that?" Hiashi asked already knowing the answer.

"Um, a couple of hours I think. I was too busy running to really notice. I had to stay away from some pretty fast people."

"Three hours and seven minutes from the moment of your first yell to the village. I read the ANBU report on it. In the course of the chase, there were 27 ANBU run into the ground from chakra exhaustion, 12 admitted to the hospital for blood loss due to nosebleeds and a total of 53 separate traps and ambushes. It took the best captain in ANBU to apprehend you but he did not begin to follow you until the first three hours had passed."

Both Neji and Naruto had looks of shock on their faces at the scale of the effect it had had on ANBU.

"Naruto, the average ANBU chase lasts under 5 minutes. Your performance has caused much trouble for the ANBU pursuit section. In addition, they have copied many of your traps and use them to train with. Your ability to think in a non standard method for ninja is not always looked upon kindly by others but in one fashion it is genius in its creativity."

"Wow," Naruto whispered in shock. The leader of the strongest clan in Konoha was calling _him_ a genius.

"Before you get into your head that you are set to become Hokage, you must know a few other facts. Had ANBU been allowed to go to 'kill mode' instead of simple 'pursuit and capture' you would have been dead less than 2 minutes into the chase."

Naruto's face paled at that and swallowed weakly. His thoughts of being 'all that and a bag of chips' flew out the window.

"The other point is if you had stopped running long enough to fight the ANBU, you would have been defeated faster than your loss to Neji. ANBU are the elite of the village. You are not at their level yet."

"Now, we get back to the original subject. What must you do to fight Neji at his best?"

Naruto thought for a minute "Well, I need to stay out of his reach or he will shut me down with his Gentle Fist. If I get in close it has to be something he does not expect and either take him down in one shot or hit and move away. So, my best bet would either hit him with something big or wear him down from a distance."

Hiashi nodded at Naruto's analysis. "Very good Naruto. Those are standard tactics against a Hyuuga with Gentle Fist. So what areas would you attack on Neji to have a chance to defeat him?"

"Well from my work for the Hokage on the, um, official pranks I know that something that works on your eyes would be the best attack. I had a few ideas I could have tried out but I was not allowed to hurt anyone. I was never able to figure out how that flash bang thing the missing ninja who attacked you that time used because I don't know enough about seals. I came up with a gas that just affects the eyes. You saw the design for it in the report I gave the Hokage."

Hiashi nodded but Neji looked confused and broke in, "Wait a second! YOU really are the Great Prankster? But several pranks were done with you in plain sight far away from the place that got hit!"

Naruto gave a foxy grin and said, "Trade secret."

Hiashi chuckled, "He had an accomplice; one that no one suspected at all; your cousin Hinata."

Neji just looked more shocked at this revelation. Shy quiet Hinata was in league with the greatest prankster in the history of Konoha.

Hiashi decided now that enough talking had been done and it was time to fight again. He set Neji and Naruto against each other several times a day for the next week. Naruto never managed to actually defeat Neji but their battles took more time with each engagement. Each trick that Naruto came up with Neji would find a counter to either immediately or by the next fight. Even so, Naruto grew to think both strategically and tactically for each match. The boys grew to have a healthy respect for the other's ability and something akin to friendship developed. Neji even pulled some of Naruto's tricks on Naruto to the delight of the blonde.

Hiashi smiled at the end result. Naruto had a way of changing everyone he touched for the better and in the end the blonde boy had saved his nephew from a deeper darkness. Neji would never be the fate driven sullen boy again. Naruto learned to think more before he fought and improved greatly in his fighting ability.

End Flashback

* * *

Naruto was startled out of his reverie by the sound of a hawk calling out.

The intermission ended and Hayate called out the Fourth Match: Uchiha Sasuke vs. Uzumaki Naruto.

Sasuke glared at Naruto on the floor of the arena. "You should give up now, Loser. You cannot beat my eyes. I beat you once before without my Sharingan. You will not have a chance now that I have it."

"Blah, blah, blah, my eyes are the best, my eyes are the greatest. Big deal," Naruto taunted.

Sasuke growled as Hayate signaled the start of the match. The dark boy sprang forward to end this match quickly. His eyes tracked Naruto standing there and seeing his punch on track to impact on the Loser's face.

He missed. Naruto used a move from Sasuke's own style to avoid the blow and threw Sasuke into the air. Sasuke flipped over and landed in a skid. The crowd roared in appreciation. This was going to be a battle.

"He used MY style against me,' Sasuke thought furiously. 'I will not be mocked like this. I know his weaknesses already. He is afraid of fire.' Sasuke grinned and began hand seals

"Grand Fireball" he shouted as he blew out a huge cloud of fire at Naruto.

The fire billowed out and filled nearly a quarter of the stadium floor. 'That should make the Loser freeze up just like last time.' Sasuke thought evilly. 'Then the humiliation will commence.'

The fireball went out a few seconds after Sasuke stopped blowing and he scanned for Naruto. He spied the blonde but what he saw made him pause. The blonde was sitting on the ground cross legged and holding a marshmallow on a stick.

"Um, Sasuke? Could you maybe make a little more fire? My marshmallow was not quite cooked yet." Naruto grinned and wiggled the stick. The crowd was shocked for a moment then broke out into laughter.

Sasuke was shocked as well but it quickly turned into anger as he realized the crowd as laughing. He rushed at the blonde again who sprung to his feet and dodged and dropped a small ball in to ground as he moved. A small explosion engulfed Sasuke. The smoke cleared within seconds but the effect was clear.

Sasuke was dyed day-glo orange from hair to toes. The crowd roared in laughter again. Sasuke growled louder as he knew they were laughing at HIM.

* * *

Hiashi sat in his box and gaped at the plan of Naruto. Since he had seen a few signs of this before he knew what the boy was doing. Naruto was going after Sasuke's weakest point.

"Interesting battle tactic, Hokage-dono," the Kazekage said.

Sarutobi chuckled, "Naruto is one of our most promising young ninja. He has always been a prankster at heart. But his strategy is very sound."

Hinata squealed at the orange Sasuke. Sakura just stared. Anko was rolling in the aisle with laughter. Tsunade smirked at the whole thing.

* * *

"Gee Sasuke; are you trying to be me? I mean I know my orange outfit was a fashion statement but I don't think you pull it off too well," Naruto taunted again.

"FIGHT ME SERIOUSLY YOU LOSER!" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto made hand signs and called out his jutsu "Air bullet!" A ball of condensed air shot towards Sasuke.

The Uchiha grinned as his eyes copied the jutsu and he flashed through the hand signs and sent the same jutsu crashing into the attack Naruto had made. The jutsu cancelled each other out. The crowd was cheering again.

Naruto made more signs and called out another jutsu, "Water bullet!" Sasuke again copied the jutsu and duplicated it. Once more the jutsu cancelled each other out.

"You cannot beat me in a jutsu fight, Loser. My eyes cannot be beaten that way. No one can beat an Uchiha with jutsu. We reign supreme!"

"Oh yeah? Well then I am going to have to use my Ultimate Jutsu on you." Naruto said in a quiet tone.

Naruto flashed into hand signs again. Sasuke's eyes copied the signs and molded the chakra.

Naruto finished but did not shout out a jutsu. Sasuke finished at the same moment.

Both boys disappeared into clouds of chakra smoke.

* * *

The crowd was stunned into silence as the smoke cleared up. Then there were shouts and laughter even louder than before coming from the crowd

The Raikage roared and wiped tears from his eyes. This Uzumaki was a true heir to his name. He found the biggest weakness in his opponent and capitalized on it. It was not a ploy he would recommend in most battles but here it was something to behold.

* * *

Sasuke heard renewed laughter as he saw the smoke clear. This was a strange jutsu and it made him feel strange. He felt a strange weight on his chest and his hips felt larger than normal. He also felt a breeze. He saw facing him a naked blonde haired girl with two long pigtails blowing kisses at him. 'No' he thought as he looked down at himself. Or more correctly, down at herself.

Sasuke heard Naruto quietly say, "Sexy jutsu. My ultimate jutsu against perverts. How do you like it Sa Uke-chan?"

Sasuke saw he was in a naked female form with breasts that rivaled Tsunade. Twin black pigtails hung down his back

He quickly cancelled the jutsu but the damage was already done. Sasuke was angry beyond words now. Something seemed to snap inside his head. It would take nothing but the utter destruction of Naruto to satisfy him now. The Uchiha would never realize what Naruto had done. The blonde had struck at the weakest point Sasuke had; his pride.

* * *

Naruto knew his plan succeeded but maybe a little too well. Sasuke was attacking full bore now but only with taijutsu. Naruto was hard pressed to block and counter the still skilled fighting style of Sasuke. Without the training in proper form from Hiashi, Naruto would have fallen already. He knew he had to end this quickly before the Uchiha's rage ebbed and he would focus on more than simply trying to take him apart.

Sasuke overextended on one attack and left himself wide open. Naruto hit Sasuke with a jaw breaking right cross that sent the dark haired boy to the dirt.

The Kazekage had seen enough. The Uchiha was more than powerful enough. All he needed now as to be collected. He made a gesture to his bodyguard who spoke into a hidden microphone. Within seconds, white feathers began drifting down around the stadium a dozen explosions rocked various parts of Konoha.

* * *

Next Chapter: Invasion and Loss

* * *

End Notes: This chapter was a hard one to write. I did not want to simply have the standard battles from canon but I also wanted to have them close enough for people to recognize them. Finding a way to do both was giving me fits. I want to acknowledge Dragon Man 180 for the sexy jutsu idea. It fit so well into my original plan for the fight that I had to include it.

My purpose in the Naruto / Sasuke fight was simple. Naruto cannot match Sasuke in a jutsu battle due to the copy ability of the Sharingan. Naruto has the advantage in sheer power but Sasuke has more skill. Naruto realized this and set out to simply embaress Sasuke to the point that Sasuke would fall into a rage and not use his skills effectively.

The whole training sequence with Hiashi and Naruto I had one mental picture in mind. Think of the scenes in The Matrix with Morpheus training Neo in the dojo. The whole point in both was to get the person to think rather than simply act. I know some people will be disappointed with my interaction between Neji and Naruto but I feel that in my story, Neji is not as big of an a as in most others. I already had his early attitude shaken by his fight with Hinata and Hiashi finished it off by working with his nephew along with Naruto bringing in his ability to change people. My purpose in the training was not to have Neji beaten down but rather to have Naruto built up and both learn from it.

Parting Shot: It seems like there are even more gay Sasuke / Naruto fics out than normal. While I try to be open minded about people's choices this is getting out of hand when it gets to a guy getting pregnant. Um to all yaoi fangirls, guys cannot get pregnant. What is worse it is always Naruto the one who is on the receiving end. And if they do not want to make a 'gay' fic, they turn Naruto into a girl and have the pair hook up that way. Heteros fight back and make more straight fics!


	22. Invasion and Loss Part 1

Naruto and Sasuke are in a pitched battle in the Chunin Exams and it is not turning out well for Sasuke's pride. Naruto has the upper hand when something happens.

* * *

Chapter 22: Invasion and Loss – Part 1

* * *

The Kazekage had seen enough. He made a gesture to his bodyguard who spoke into a hidden microphone. Within seconds, white feathers began drifting down around the stadium. People all around the stadium began to pass out from the wide area genjutsu. A dozen explosions rocked various parts of Konoha.

On the arena floor, the fight continued unabated. Sasuke rose up holding his broken jaw. His rage oozed from him as killer intent at Naruto.

'The Uchiha is more than powerful enough. He has the ability to copy jutsu already but he lacks the sense to do so wisely. His mind is damaged, weak and uncontrolled. The boy has fallen prey to such childish taunting. So much the better. He will be easy enough to take over like this,' he thought.

The Kazekage jumped up behind Sarutobi and placed a kunai against the Hokage's throat. He jumped to the roof of the next section of the stands with his captive. The four bodyguards for the Kazekage threw off their robe revealing themselves as Sound ninja. All four leapt to the neighboring roof with him and formed a box around the pair. In synch, the four went through a series of hand signs and a barrier rose up around them, trapping the two Kages within.

"Ah, so the other foot drops. You are not the Kazekage. So then who are you?" Sarutobi asked in a strangely calm voice.

"Just a wayward ninja who has come home to see some loose ends tied off, Sarutobi-sensei," crooned a silky voice in his ear.

"Orochimaru. My greatest failure and biggest disappointment," Sarutobi replied. He saw several robed ANBU waiting outside the barrier. He could recognize the barrier's type and knew help would not be coming through that particular barrier. Best to stall for time. "So, what has happened to the true Kazekage?"

"Oh, he is just out communing with the desert. Becoming one with it so to speak." Orochimaru chuckled evilly.

* * *

At the city walls to Konoha, an enormous cloud of chakra smoke billowed up and a 3 headed snake the size of the Hokage Tower rose from it. The snake surged forward and shattered the wall in front of it. The snake moved into the city and crushed the mostly abandoned Uchiha district as it went. Sound ninja poured into the city through the breech. The Leaf ninja on guard duty in that area fell back taking their wounded with them. A few chunin stood their ground to protect their fellows and died where they stood. In their stand, more Sound ninja fell at the wall than Leaf ninja.

* * *

Sasuke roared and lunged at Naruto again. All that mattered to him now was the utter destruction of Naruto. The genin never noticed Hayate come up beside him and chop him across the neck knocking him out. Naruto looked at Hayate with a strange look on his face as he noticed people slumped over in the stands.

In various parts of the stadium there was fighting as Sound ninja abandoned their disguises and attacked anyone in sight. On first glace it did not appear things were going well. Most of the available ANBU had formed up around the daimyo's box and were preventing anyone from getting near the feudal lords. Within, the bodyguards all watched each other warily as they stood around their respective leaders. The Raikage and his own bodyguard, Yugito Nii stood watch over their leader.

"Naruto, report to your teacher for instruction. Konoha is under attack." Hayate looked up at the stands and grimaced. "But it seems the attack is not a total surprise after all."

* * *

During the Intermission before the Naruto / Sasuke fight.

Shikamaru took off running to find Asuma. He heard the announcement for a 15 minute intermission and smiled. He might have enough time. The genin practically flew up the stairs as he headed toward where he had seen his family and friends sitting.

Asuma was puzzled by the intermission announcement but like many of the spectators welcomed it. He was heading to take care of some business when Shikamaru came running up. He came to full alert because Shikamaru NEVER ran for anything.

"Sensei, something is going on here!"

Asuma narrowed his eyes at his student as his hand strayed towards his weapons. "Verify. I need your codeword."

Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome. Rutabaga Pie. Sensei, something is going on with the Sand genin in the Exams. They are not behaving like people who are here to try for chunin. The puppet user was hiding way too much ability in his fight against Shino and when I fought the girl, she nearly panicked when I mentioned knocking her out for several hours. Something bigger is about to happen and the Sand is a part of it."

Asuma relaxed slightly at hearing the proper code word from Shikamaru but tensed up again at hearing his report. "This is bad. There are leaders from a dozen countries here. If even one gets hurt, Konoha will be blamed." Asuma looked around for an ANBU and spotted one nearby.

Walking quickly to the robed and masked elite ninja, Asuma spoke quietly. "My student has detected something amiss and I am worried about a possible threat to the daimyos." Asuma followed with an authentication code, which received a nod from the ANBU who quickly left.

In under a minute, Asuma heard the message hawk call out a Stage 1 alert. The hawk calls meant nothing to the general population. But to chunin level or higher it meant to be alert for suspicious activity and required all stations and patrols in the city to report status to headquarters. He nodded to Shikamaru who just shook his head, "Troublesome."

* * *

ANBU headquarters was receiving information from all patrols and stations on the walls. A chunin marked status on a large wall map of the city as messages arrived. Five minutes after the call to report status, a bad picture was forming. Several patrols outside the walls in the northeast and west areas had not reported in nor had the western gate. Quick response teams were being dispatched to the areas and to the main arena. The rumble of a sector of the northeastern wall being destroyed sounded across the city. Ibiki called out, "Sound the general evacuation alert. All civilians report to shelters at once. All ninja reserves activate and go to Stage 2 conditions in the village."

Hawks were sent out immediately to carry the message out to the village.

Sand ninja flooded through the captured western gate and fanned out. One team continued down the main street unopposed. Their objective was to head to the Hokage Tower and capture it intact if possible. The wealth and knowledge in the Konoha vaults would be a major prize. Other teams set out on search and destroy missions. Many did not like the idea of killing civilians so they engaged any ninja they saw instead. They merely drove the children and elderly before them to prevent Leaf counter attack from area effect jutsu.

ANBU squad 11 tore through the Sand ninja on the main street before them and headed to the western gate instead of engaging the enemy teams already in town. Their mission was to secure the gate. They saw teams from the nearby tower stations attempting to do the same but the chunin were being driven back.

The team leader spoke up, "We will secure and shut the gate first. Once we have accomplished that task we will aid our fellows. Stopping the enemy within the walls is important but useless if they get reinforcements."

The elite ninja made short work of the Sand ninja at the gate. The leader and two others stood in the gateway to hold back the enemies as the final two in their team worked the mechanism closing the gate. The pair then used fire jutsu to disable the workings. This kept nearly two thirds of the Sand forces outside of the village but those able to use chakra to climb up the outer walls began to do so in spite of seals built into the walls to make such a task difficult.

* * *

Naruto scrambled up the inner wall of the arena. He peered over the edge into the seating area to find it absolute mayhem. Many Konoha ninja had been warned by the original hawk to beware and this had served them well when the area genjutsu was cast. All the jonin and roughly half the chunin in attendance managed to shrug off the sleep technique. Some areas of the stands were kept safe while others with few ninja sitting there were slaughterhouses. Naruto spotted Anko, Tsunade, and Sakura with her family in a safe area with many other civilians. There were many slugs around them spitting acid at anyone who approached with a weapon in hand and not wearing a Leaf emblem. Naruto jumped over the edge and ran toward his team.

Tsunade yelled orders to her slugs. "Expand the perimeter" She turned to Naruto, "Help Sakura and her father and pull any unconscious civilians into the safe area. Leave them asleep for now. They will be less hassle that way. If you find any ninja, do whatever it takes to wake them up. Kick them, slap them, punch or cut them. Whatever it takes! We are being overrun."

Naruto nodded and made the cross seal and quietly spoke his favorite jutsu, "Shadow Clones" Several dozen copies of Naruto sprung into action pulling sleeping civilians through the line of slugs. Each person his clones pulled behind them gave the slugs more room to expand the safe zone and a wider field of fire. Soon, awakened genin and chunin were aiding the effort. Freed from rescue duty, Sakura began treating wounded civilians and ninja alike. Her father had somehow managed to remain awake and aided his daughter by standing protectively with his old knife in hand.

* * *

Baki growled at reports from the invasion force on the radio. "The damned Leaf ANBU retook the gate we were using to get in. Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, go to the western gate and force it back open."

"Mother wants blood. There are many victims here she can have," Gaara replied with an insane look in his eyes.

Baki just though and spoke quietly, "These are just cattle, Gaara. There are ninja who can justify your existence waiting at the gate. Better sport than killing the ones who don't resist."

Gaara turned his head as if listening to someone else before leaping off with Temari and Kankuro following behind.

* * *

Within minutes, many of the jonin in the arena area had grouped near the perimeter Tsunade had established and counterattacked the Sound forces in the stadium. The outmatched Sound ninja retreated and a strange silence filled the arena with distant fighting coming from multiple directions.

Hinata arrived just then with her younger sister and several branch family Hyuuga in tow. "My father instructed me to come here with the rest of the family below jonin rank. He is taking them to relieve the estate. It seems to be near the fighting in the clan districts. I spotted the Sand genin team heading west toward some other Sand forces. The forces in the northeast appear to be Sound ninja like the ones here. They are killing everyone in their path.

Anko looked at Tsunade, "I'll go help with the evacuation and fighting the Sound forces." She left with several jonin in tow.

Tsunade turned her attention to the large purple barrier on the roof of one of the seating areas. She could see Sarutobi and Orochimaru tossing jutsu at one another. 'Hold on, Sensei. Help is coming.' "Every genin who is free; go to that seating area below that barrier and evacuate the civilians! Chunin, go relieve the ANBU guarding the daimyos. Naruto, Hinata, Sakura; I want the three of you to pursue the Sand genin and stop them.

* * *

Iruka frowned as he herded the Academy students toward their assigned shelter. The new school building was a mass of flames behind him as the Sound ninja overran the place shortly after it was evacuated. That giant three-headed snake was really a pain. It had pushed nearly to the center of the village already and nothing the defenders could do was stopping it. Several teachers were fighting a rear guard action as the students fled. The teachers all suddenly fell screaming and clutching their heads in agony. Iruka felt the vibrations in the air even from a distance. Two squads of Sound ninja approached with leering faces at the easy pickings they saw before them. Iruka stood alone between the enemy and the children. He knew he would die doing his best to defend the future of Konoha.

The point Sound ninja rushed Iruka and was felled by a perfectly thrown kunai to the throat. The rest realized this scarred chunin was better than his uniformed rank showed. One raised up an arm similar to the one the dead genin from the Chunin Exams and swung it at Iruka. The teacher screamed as his eardrums broke under the assault and he fell to his knees vomiting. The leader of the Sound squad casually walked up to the kneeling teacher and pulled Iruka's head back by the ponytail, ready to slash his throat.

The Sound forces were shocked when senbon needles appeared in the neck of their leader before the barrage that followed left none of them standing. Iruka groggily lifted his head to see a teen leap down from a building to slash the throats of the Sound ninja before helping Iruka and the students to safety.

* * *

The Leaf forces fell back further from the three-headed snake. All they could do was retreat from it. Sound ninja flanked it and took advantage of the devastation it caused to break any resistance they found. The snake roared again as a loud voice was heard.

"Summoning Jutsu!" yelled Jiraiya as a huge orange frog landed on the snake dispelling it. "Thanks, Gamakoudai." The enormous toad swung to either side and killed squads of Sound ninja at once blunting the attack before dispelling himself in a cloud of chakra smoke. Jiraiya ran past the defenders toward the arena. He knew that he already going to be too late. He had needed to fight his way through Sound forces to even get into the city. Every second he took fighting these people was one more he could lose the few people he still held precious.

* * *

The Leaf chunin got to the daimyo box and relived the ANBU to deal with other threats. Yugito Nii noticed the 'next generation of Sannin' heading off to the west. Yugito bowed to Saito, "Master, the jinchuuriki from the Sand is moving off to the west and it seems the Leaf is sending a genin team in pursuit. Genin will not be able to stand up to him. If the Leaf loses this fight and the demon becomes uncontrolled, our Lord could die here in spite of the relative safety we now have."

The Raikage nodded. He knew that Yugito wanted to test herself against another jinchuuriki. He called out to the Dragon masked ANBU nearby, "ANBU-san. My bodyguard wishes to aid your village. The Sand has a demon vessel heading toward the western gate. She might be able to help."

The dragon masked ANBU considered for a moment. With chunin and genin preparing to evacuate the daimyos, he was free to aid other areas. His abilities would be useful in the event of a demon getting out of control but three jinchuuriki in one battle location had disaster written all over it. He shook his head. "It would be best for her to remain here at this time. We are about to move the daimyos to a place of greater safety. Her 'gifts' might be more useful to protect the daimyos if things get further out of hand. There are still some wary feelings towards your village. With this invasion in progress, Leaf ninja are attacking anyone without a Leaf headband."

Saito nodded briefly and looked at Yugito, "Wait for now. If needed, you will be permitted to go into the fray to defend our daimyo."

* * *

Ayame sat with her father and watched as Academy students filed into the shelter. Many of the older students were burdened with wounded teachers. Bringing up the rear she saw a young man half carrying Iruka. The waitress ran to help with the man she knew was a good friend of Naruto. Ayame gently lowered Iruka to the ground and thanked the young man. He smiled kindly and she found herself blushing as the teen was her age and very attractive.

The jonin in charge of the shelter looked down his list. Runners and block leaders had kept him informed of the progress of the evacuations in the eastern districts and how far the enemy had advanced there. Nearly all the areas in the region for this shelter were accounted for one way or the other. He knew he had little choice but to write off anyone behind the lines for the moment and pray to the gods for their survival or painless deaths. He turned to the runner at hand, "Report to headquarters, all northeastern sector blocks evacuated or overrun. Only the Hyuuga compound is unaccounted for in the shelter. Last reports had it cut off but holding. Northeastern sector prepared to go to Stage 3 when ordered."

* * *

Kin groggily opened her eyes and looked around. This was not her tent. She was supposed to be getting ready to invade Konoha and get her revenge for her embarrassing loss in the Chunin Exams. She could barely move her arms and a panel was mere inches from her face when she tried to sit up It was dark and enclosed and she was naked. Enough light penetrated from the edges of whatever she was in to give her enough light to see. As her eyes peered down at herself, she could make out ink seals written all over her bare skin.

"No," she whispered. Orochimaru had said that he cared about her. That she would have a special place in the attack and be important in their victory. The seals all began to glow and burn. She screamed as she felt her soul being consumed and pulled down into the darkness as another filled her body.

* * *

Tsunade could only watch as the battle between Orochimaru and the Hokage took an ugly turn. Orochimaru had performed some new jutsu and Sarutobi had only been able to stop part of it. Two coffins opened and out stepped people she knew. 'Grandpa," was all she was able to say. Jiraiya arrived just then. He quickly surveyed the situation and saw Orochimaru desecrate the bodies that resembled the First and Second Hokage. "We have to get in there somehow and aid Sensei."

"Several ANBU have been killed already trying to breech the barrier. None lived long enough to reach the people holding it up," Tsunade replied.

"Hime, have you forgotten everything Sensei taught us about barriers? They need three things; chakra, focus and a solid place to stand. These turkeys are standing on a roof."

"OF COURSE!" Tsunade yelled. "EVERYONE BACK OFF!" Tsunade jumped down one level and looked down the back of the building. The long back wall was the load bearing one.

She took a few steps back and ran at the corner, striking the masonry with her massive strength and chakra. The shock wave ran down the length of the wall destroying the masonry and cracking the metal supports. With a crash, the roof shattered to pieces as it collapsed. The Sound ninjas tried desperately to hold on but with no footing, the barrier collapsed as they fell with the roof.

Tsunade and Jiraiya leapt at Orochimaru to do battle.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata and Sakura were closing in on the gate area. They saw the crushed remains of many Leaf ninja who had tried to stop the Sand team. Temari and Kankuro were standing guard as Gaara was trying to force the gate open with his sand. The red head was covered in sand on his upper body. The head of a tanuki and two monstrous arms of sand looked out at the slowly opening gates. There was enough space already to let a single line of ninja through and Gaara kept forcing it wider.

"We need to get them away from the gate. Gaara is the only one able to force that thing. Even Tsunade-sensei would have trouble moving those things. They are almost as large as her breasts," Naruto joked.

Sakura lightly smacked Naruto. "Focus", she admonished him

"Shadow clones, ATTACK!" Naruto shouted as dozens of copies of Naruto fell upon Gaara. Hinata and Sakura attacked Temari and Kankuro. Temari managed to swing her fan at Hinata and drove her back for a moment. Sakura landed a solid blow on Kankuro's puppet and saw it shatter into a dozen pieces. The Sand genin jumped back wiggling his fingers as the separate limbs of his weapon all lifted into the air to attack Sakura dodged as blades flipped out of each limb.

Gaara was looking at all the Narutos when one just said "Boom" and paper bombs planted by all the clones detonated. Gaara roared in pain as the sand was blown away from his body only to reform seconds later. The increased cover now included a tail. The enraged Sand ninja jumped at Naruto who just fled, taunting Gaara. Naruto jumped up onto the wall and ran a short distance down. Gaara began following so Naruto kept running. Temari tried calling out to Gaara but Hinata attacked her again. The redhead ran down the wall after the fleeing but still taunting Naruto. After moving down the wall about 200 yards, Naruto leapt off into the forest around Konoha with Gaara in hot pursuit.

"What is that idiot doing?" Sakura asked Hinata.

"Gaara is the biggest danger right now. Naruto lured him away from the gates," Hinata replied. "We need to finish here and go help him."

* * *

Ibiki looked at the reports coming in. The arena area was secured but a Kage level battle was going on nearby. The daimyos were being evacuated to the southern part of the city with all the available genin and several dozen chunin in flanking guard positions. Once they reached the southern shelter, the chunin could be turned against the Sand ninja still in the city.

The western portion of the city was sustaining heavy casualties among the defenders but civilian casualties were light. ANBU squad 11 had been taken down at some point in their stand at the gate but reports from the badly injured sole survivor reported a 15 to 1 kill ratio. Sand forces within the village were hunting down ninja and some civilians earlier but now they were facing empty buildings. The Sand's jinchuuriki, Gaara, was reported moving to that area killing all in his path.

The northeastern area of the city was sustaining heavy damage to life and infrastructure. It was fortunate that the initial thrust had been in the Uchiha clan compound. The Hyuuga compound had been cut off early and many Hyuuga at the arena had cut through the battle lines to reach their families. Scouts from high positions on the Hokage Tower and the mountain could still see heavy fighting in that part of the city. Ibiki hoped they could hold out. It was fortunate that Jiraiya had blunted the Sound attack and Leaf forces had halted the rest of the advance. Anko and the majority of the jonin from the arena would be arriving there soon.

Ibiki looked up as a runner came in with a new message. The daimyos had reached the southern shelter. All shelters had reported secure at close to 90 percent capacity in all but the northeastern sector 'Finally. Now we can do something.' "Send the hawk up. Initiate Stage 3, Eliminate the invaders, at all costs."

* * *

Next Chapter Invasion and Loss – Part 2

* * *

Review Notes: I was stunned by the number of reviews for chapter 21. It was by far the most a single chapter has received. Only 1 purely negative one but it got auto-censored so I am not sure exactly what he meant.

A few people did get on me about my idea that Sasuke would win a jutsu fight. I still hold to that idea for several reasons. First, Sasuke knows more jutsu and most of Sasuke's jutsu are attacks. Naruto has few most notably his shadow clones but outside of me giving him a few elemental bullet ones, he is lacking in offense. Sasuke is familiar enough with Naruto and the use of shadow clones that he would not fall for the trick of being overloaded by it. Yes, Naruto could most definitely outlast Sasuke in terms of chakra. The only real deciding factor is the last one. Naruto is not trying to permanently damage his opponent. The same cannot be said for Sasuke. Naruto holds back too much in a fight in canon so he gets tossed around like a ball until he gets serious. If Naruto had been trying to merely kill Sasuke as opposed to stopping him in the VotE episodes of the anime, Sasuke would be dead. THAT is why Sasuke would win a jutsu battle.

A few reviews have addressed my use of the minor characters then leaving them out hanging. Hanabi was mentioned most recently. I do take some of them into consideration but see them as background with only their parts that directly affect the story included. Also, I wonder who noticed the return of a previous minor character.

Writing Notes: My variances from canon increase with the giant snake getting much further into Konoha than in the original since my Jiraiya was out of town and not quite back yet. I loved that critter so it got to stick around longer. It was like bringing a tank to a knife fight.

Gamakoudai literally means huge toad.

Yes, another cliffhanger but I figured one half update in one week with another half update a week later was better than the complete update in two weeks.

I looked over the stats for this story and I am truly humbled.

Nearly 100K words  
169,000 page views  
583 reviews  
463 favorites  
705 alerts  
125 C2s  
Thanks to everyone who has read and I hope will continue reading.

Parting Shot: I will never put down or cheapen my view on ANBU. They are the elite of the village ninja. The equivalent to Navy SEALs, Army Rangers or British SAS. People want to make ANBU seem like just another rank when it is actually so much more.


	23. Invasion and Loss Part 2

Well, it has been a month since my last posted update. A severe case of writers block set in and finding I had written myself into a corner had me scrap over 6000 words. My much more ambitious Part 2 finale is now going to be in Part 3 as I do not want to stall any longer. My other 2 stories will likely not be updated until after chapter 24 of this is posted.

**Chapter 23: Invasion and Loss – Part 2**

_Recap: Konoha has been invaded by the forces of Sound and Sand. The late arrival of Jiraiya has allowed the Sound to push deep into the village but a timely counterattack against the Sand kept those forces at bay and mostly outside the walls of the city. Team Apprentice is in pursuit of the Sand Siblings who are attempting to retake the gates._

_Tsunade has brought down the barrier around Sarutobi and Orochimaru only to find herself attacked by summons of her dead relatives_

_Things look bleak for Konoha as they attempt to move to Stage 3 of their defense._

* * *

Ibiki looked up as a runner came in with a new message. The daimyos had reached the southern shelter. All shelters had reported secure at close to 90 percent capacity in all but the northeastern sector 'Finally. Now we can do something.' "Send the hawk up. Initiate Stage 3, Eliminate the invaders, at all costs."

* * *

Tsunade and Jiraiya rushed at Orochimaru but the golems of the First and Second Hokage intercepted them. Sarutobi was engaging Orochimaru in a jutsu battle and the pair were locked in a stalemate. Tsunade tried to get around the forms of her dead relatives but the pair continued to assault the healer. "The only way past us is to destroy us, Tsu-hime," came the voice of the First. "We cannot resist the compulsion of our summoning."

Tsunade had tears running down her face as she defended against her grandfather's wood jutsu. Jiraiya fought against the Second and his water jutsu. "So, the incompetent boy who was last in his class thinks he can oppose a Kage?" asked the Second.

"I am far beyond that Senju-sama. Much has changed since your death." Jiraiya sent a small earth jutsu at the Second but the golem merely batted it aside.

"No, not much has changed at all."

"It is a shame you had to disrupt my jutsu, Sarutobi-sensei," crooned Orochimaru. "The Fourth was so looking forward to seeing you again. He wanted that brat, Naruto, treated like a hero, but even so he was shunned by most of the village. Such a failure for the Professor." Orochimaru did not show it well but he was highly disturbed by this situation. He was supposed to be sitting back watching Sarutobi get torn to shreds by his summons. His Sound Four had failed him.

He could see past his former teacher at the ANBU forces subduing his minions. Even with second stage curse seal, the Sound Four were no match for seasoned ANBU. Coughing slightly, Orochimaru spit out his sword, Grass Cutter and swung at Sarutobi. Sarutobi replied by summoning Enma, the Monkey King in the form of a large staff. Orochimaru found he was not a match for his former teacher in weapon use and tried to fall back only to find his way blocked by ANBU.

Sarutobi closed in on his former student and swung his staff again. Orochimaru parried and leapt back to the center of the rubble that used to be the roof. The ANBU kept their distance from there. It appeared they were more interested in keeping him confined than taking him down.

Tsunade backed away from another attack. No matter what, she could not bear to strike back at her own grandfather. She struck down more wooden spears aimed for her heart. Being solely on the defensive was going to get her killed at this rate. She needed to do something. Tsunade decided a disabling wound could be acceptable. Just like it was a spar. Yes, she could handle that. She ran at the summons and swung as the golem leapt away from her. Her punch impacted the leg of the First and she felt the bones shatter. The First landed awkwardly and looked at its leg. "Ah, Tsu-hime, you need to do better than that." It shook its leg as the bones repaired and reformed. "Small wounds like that will not stop this form of mine. To stop me, you must utterly destroy me."

Jiraiya was tired even before he had arrived to help his teacher and Tsunade. Now, facing off with the image of the Second, he was draining quickly. 'His water jutsu are defeating my earth jutsu too quickly. I spent too many years working on my writing and my spy network and not enough on keeping at my skills at their peak. Even Sensei's earth jutsu are stronger than mine are now.' Jiraiya dodged another water bullet from the creature facing him. The Sannin noticed that the golem was striking out at random ANBU that tried to interfere in the battle. 'It is toying with me for some reason. Since the Second knew me even as a youth, he must be holding back against me for some reason. His strikes are crippling the ANBU that try to aid me.'

"ANBU, Keep back! They are holding back against Tsunade and me because the spirits inside the bodies remember us and truly don't want to hurt us. Whatever is making them fight their compulsion does not apply to you!"

The ANBU closest backed off to form a perimeter and guard rather than try to help.

* * *

Hinata tried to close in on Temari but the fan user managed to keep her distance by pushing Hinata away with wind jutsu. 'This is not working. I am too light to get close to this girl and I lack long distance jutsu.' She noticed Sakura in a similar situation. 'Sakura can dodge those puppet arms well enough but she cannot get in close to the puppeteer to finish him.' "Sakura! Lights out in 5!"

"All right," Sakura replied.

Five seconds after Sakura responded, the pair switched who they were attacking. Sakura picked up a soccer ball sized piece of shattered masonry and hurled it at close to 100 miles per hour at Temari. 'Dodge this, blondie,' she thought. Hinata dove into the whirling mass of puppet parts slicing chakra strings with her own chakra. The Sand genin were surprised by the switch and were immediately on the defensive.

Sakura continued moving and hurling large pieces of rubble at Temari at incredible speeds. The fan wielder could only dodge as her wind was not strong enough to push the missiles aside. Sakura kept closing the gap with her new opponent and getting closer to nailing Temari with her throws. Temari found herself pushed back against the wall and forced to block a punch with her fan. The weapon shattered under the blow and pieces of the broken weapon cut Temari. The blonde girl cried out in pain before a second blow knocked her out.

Kankuro heard his sister's cry and sent several bladed arms at Sakura's unprotected back. His attack was short lived as without the pressure on herself, Hinata closed the gap to Kankuro and hit chakra points in his arms. This shut down the chakra in his arms and he lost his ability to make chakra strings for his puppets. One arm had grazed Hinata's arm, cutting it and leaving a burning sensation.

Kankuro smirked, "You had better surrender now or I will not give you the antidote for the poison."

Hinata glared at the hooded Sand genin and attacked the boy with a dozen hits within seconds. Kankuro slumped back against a broken wall unable to defend himself. Hinata casually bent over and lifted the bladed arm of the puppet.

"Antidote, huh?" She had an eerie look on her face as she lifted Kankuro's motionless arm and drove the blade through his palm into the wall he was leaning against. The boy cried out in pain. Hinata leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "Then you had better have it on you or close by or we are going to die together."

Kankuro whimpered, "Left hip pocket in my weapons pouch."

Hinata pulled out the antidote and lightly patted the boy on the cheek, "Good boy."

A large group of Leaf reinforcements came running up to secure the broken gate as Sakura tended to Hinata's wounds and administered the antidote to Hinata and Kankuro before heading off after Naruto.

* * *

Naruto got to a familiar training area a short distance outside of the village walls. The sand coated form of Gaara landed before him. "Not running anymore? Good, you will be a fitting sacrifice to Mother. Your blood will make her happy."

"You are plain crazy, Gaara. The thing you call Mother is some kind of monster. You do not have to listen to it," Naruto pleaded.

"Sand shuriken," Gaara called out and shot blasts of sand at Naruto. The blonde was forced to dodge and counter what he could. One shot hit him in the chest and threw the boy back into a tree. The trunk cracked under the impact. If Naruto had not used chakra to reinforce his body, he would have been dealt several broken ribs. Naruto rolled off the tree branch to avoid a follow up shot. 'This guy is way too tough. I am not going to get in close enough to use my best tricks.' Naruto conjured up a dozen shadow clones and had them scatter into the trees around Gaara as he tried to think of a strategy.

* * *

Hiashi looked at the carnage in the Hyuuga estates. Dead and wounded ninja lay in the ground at his feet. The Sound had retreated to regroup once more. Older members of the Hyuuga clan came out of the safety of the estate bunker to help recover their wounded and dead clansmen. The older children brought out soldier pills and water to the defenders. Those Branch family members on watch were calling out enemy numbers and positions as the clan members scurried about.

Hiashi leaned heavily upon a broken wall and noticed Neji doing the same. Neji had refused to stay at the arena to guard Hanabi, leaving that job instead to Hinata and the members of the clan not skilled enough to break through the enemy lines. The boy had exceeded his expectations. Neji had been instrumental to Hiashi in sundering the line blocking the estate. During the battle, Neji had remained near Hiashi guarding the leaders back from attack. In spite of their claims to see everything, turning fast enough to do something about it was always a problem.

Three times the Sound tried to storm the bunker and three times the defenders had held. Barely a dozen effective combatants remained for the Hyuuga out of nearly fifty trained ninja including the ones Hiashi had brought from the arena. The cost was terrible but more so for the Sound. Nearly two hundred bodies of Sound ninja littered the grounds.

A murmur came from behind Hiashi. He looked back to see an elderly woman step out of the bunker. Hiashi stepped over to her speaking softly, "Kaa-sama, you should remain inside where it is safer."

"Nonsense, my Son. I needed to stretch a little bit. The air in there is too close for an old lady like myself." The Hyuuga matron looked over the few remaining defenders. "I can see Neji here. I assume my granddaughters are safe?"

"They were when I left them in the hands of the Sannin at the arena. Hinata, Hanabi and several Branch members will get through this even if we fall here."

Hiashi's mother nodded slowly. "It does not look promising, does it Son?"

"We shall see, Mother. Konoha's forces are getting closer in a counter attack. I saw the hawk signal for Stage 3 go up."

A Branch member hurried up, "Hiashi-sama, the Sound forces are closing in again. We count nearly 100 ninja in this wave."

"Hiashi, come inside! Please, son. Save yourself! I cannot bear to lose my last child," the Hyuuga matron begged.

"Mother, I know the Branch members are sworn to protect us but in turn I must be worthy of that protection. They are my clan, my family. I am the leader of the clan. I cannot run or hide. I could not lead or respect myself if I do so. The bunker door should be able to hold out long enough for the counterattack to reach here. We shall hold back the enemy from assaulting it as long as we can. Neji, escort your grandmother into the bunker and seal the door behind you. Protect the young and wounded."

"Hiashi-sama, my place is defending you," Neji protested.

Hiashi looked directly at Neji, "I would consider it a favor if you stay with your grandmother, Nephew."

Neji understood and nodded, "Yes, Uncle."

Neji gestured to his grandmother to re-enter the bunker. The older woman bowed to Hiashi and did as instructed. Neji pulled the heavy door closed and set the bars in place. Neji looked at his grandmother who suddenly looked much older, "Hiashi-sama was saying good bye, wasn't he?"

The old woman nodded slowly with tears falling from her eyes.

* * *

Sasuke groaned as the curse seal throbbed again within its containment. He stumbled along the road towards the western gate. The Loser was going to pay for his humiliation. He had awakened on the dirt of the arena floor where the referee had left him. He had seen the Loser and his wenches head west and followed in the confusion. They would all pay.

Sasuke rounded a corner to find a trio of Sand chunin searching for victims. The Sand ninja spotted him and threw weapons at the Uchiha. Sasuke dodged sideways and ran toward the invaders as he drew his own weapons. The nearest Sand chunin tried to engage but was cruelly cut down. The second sparred briefly but fell with a kunai buried in his stomach.

Sasuke sped over to the final Sand ninja. The desert ninja found himself pressed back against a wall with a hand clutching his throat. He gasped for air and clawed at the hand but to no avail. He slumped over with his windpipe crushed. Sasuke tossed the body aside and grunted, "One less blonde to worry about."

* * *

Orochimaru knew things were not going well for his plans. The Sand part of the assault never really got going. He had yet to see the jinchuuriki do anything on that front. His Sound forces had numbers but most barely ranked as chunin. His former teammate had disrupted his summon and taken away the most powerful weapon on that front. The Sound Four had failed to keep out the ANBU thanks to Tsunade's help. It was time to cut his losses and escape to fight another day.

"Well, I can see things are not going as I had planned today. No matter. I can deal with this minor setback. I will get what I want eventually, Sarutobi-sensei. After all, I have all the time in the world. Oh, and do enjoy my pets. They cannot be destroyed as long as I still live." Orochimaru laughed then ran past the sole ANBU there who merely let the traitor pass by before turning to follow. He pulled off the mask to reveal a smirking Kabuto before vanishing. Several ANBU began chasing after the pair.

Sarutobi turned to see his remaining students hard pressed by the reanimated forms of his predecessors. Each ANBU that tried to intervene was swatted aside by wood based jutsu. The golem was relentless. It continued to bear down on Tsunade. He saw that the strong woman could not bring herself to strike down her own grandfather. Sarutobi moved in pain from his battle with Orochimaru to help his precious students.

* * *

Naruto cursed as all of his clones were dispersed once more. Gaara was destroying them as fast as Naruto could create them. Shattered trees were strewn around the area as Gaara's sand shuriken were destroying all the close cover. Naruto was hit several times more as he kept dodging Gaara's blasts.

Sand covered the red head down to the shins. A tanuki head, clawed arms and a tail were plainly visible. "Come Uzumaki, fight me! Justify my existence!"

Naruto noticed some motion in the trees nearby. Sakura stopped a few yards inside the tree line. Naruto made a hand sign to her that she should remain hidden. Naruto made another batch of clones and then used a substitution to get over to Sakura while Gaara was destroying clones.

"Sakura, you need to get out of here. This guy is more nuts than Sasuke," he spoke in low tones so they would not be overheard. "He is dangerous."

Sakura nodded "I know he is. That is why I came to help. Hinata got wounded with poison and had to wait behind. She'll be ok."

Naruto panicked for a moment hearing Hinata had been hurt but relaxed again at Sakura's assurance she would be fine.

Further discussion was halted when a shout of 'Sand Shuriken' was heard and the branches around them shattered under the sand attack. Naruto and Sakura both leapt away only to find Gaara in their path. A sand arm slammed Naruto to one side. The other grabbed Sakura and held her tightly. Gaara chuckled in an insane fashion as he began to squeeze the life out of Sakura. He stopped when a wave of chakra and killer intent washed over him.

Naruto stood wrapped in a blue aura of chakra that had tiny bursts of purple appearing and disappearing. "LEAVE HER ALONE!!" Naruto shouted.

Gaara's sand cover face grinned wide as he spoke, "You are finally going to fight me, Uzumaki? Mother wants your blood. She says it is like hers. You will validate my existence when you die!"

* * *

In the northeastern sector of Konoha, Anko was running amok. She had summoned a dozen horse sized snakes and was cutting down every Sound ninja in sight. On one flank, an ANBU team led by a woman in a Cat mask was fighting just as hard. On Anko's other flank, the original Ino-Shika-Cho trio was doing the same.

Their goal was clear. Relieve the Hyuuga estate. Additional teams of jonin and chunin were arriving and pressuring the Sound forces heavily. The more numerous Sound ninja were being pushed back by the more experienced Leaf. The relief force had only a half mile to go but judging from the noise ahead of them, they might be too late.

* * *

Sarutobi shook his head slowly as he saw the forms of the First and Second Hokage close in on his students. The First backhanded Tsunade through a pile of rubble, leaving her stunned and helpless. It walked over and began to strangle the woman. The Second had Jiraiya trapped in a sphere of water. The golems were speaking to the Sannin and telling them they did not wish this but neither one stopped.

'Damn, they cannot be destroyed by any means I can think of except one.' "Shadow Clone," Sarutobi whispered. A clone of Sarutobi appeared and in unison with the original began a long seal sequence, their hands blurring. "Shiki Fuijin, (Reaper Death Seal)"

The jutsu completed both Sarutobi and his clone leapt forward to grapple with the golems of the First and Second. A pale white form appeared behind Sarutobi as the golems were held. Then, a hush fell across the whole of Konoha as the presence of Death was felt.

* * *

In the southern shelter, the Raikage and Yugito both felt it strongly. "Raikage-sama, the Nibi can sense the power of a tailed beast nearby being released, and possibly of a second. With this feeling of death so close by, it will make the other beasts rage and possibly make the vessels lose all control. Since I am essentially the Nibi I can keep it under control and calm or subdue the others."

The Raikage nodded, "Then go do what you must to help the situation."

The Dragon masked ANBU that had remained near them stepped up, "I shall accompany her and insure she is not attacked by Leaf forces.

* * *

The Sand forces felt the presence of Death and flinched but held in place.

The Sound forces felt it, broke and ran.

* * *

Next: Invasion and Loss, Part 3 : Battle of the Jinchuuriki

* * *

**End Notes**: Not a lot to add from the reviews of the previous chapter.

Yes, the boy with the senbon in Part 1 is Haku.

Hanabi is mentioned because she is a 'named' character who shows up in the canon Chunin Exams. She has no part other than to be rescued and joins the other people being protected within the arena.

**Parting Shot**: I realize the whole 'lets go beat Naruto to death' is a very convenient and overused plot device but I really dislike it. First there is no basis for it in canon. I really cannot see civilians and ninja disobeying the orders of Sarutobi and attacking a child. Pointing at Mizuki as being a common example makes no sense. If more than a handful of people felt that way, Naruto would have been dead as a toddler. A simple kunai dragged across the throat and no more Naruto. Even if he had supercharged regenerative healing, you cannot regrow a head.

In the manga and anime, Naruto is focused on people 'acknowledging' him. All this means to me is he was shunned or ignored by people who did not have to deal with him. This results in his pranks, loud behavior and eye searing orange jumpsuit. All are a means to attract attention and when you are routinely dismissed or ignored, even negative attention is better than none.


	24. Invasion and Loss Final Battles

**Invasion and Loss: Part 3**

Recap:

_Sarutobi shook his head slowly as he saw the forms of the First and Second Hokage close in on his students. The First backhanded Tsunade through a pile of rubble, leaving her stunned and helpless. It walked over and began to strangle the woman. The Second had Jiraiya trapped in a sphere of water. The golems were speaking to the Sannin and telling them they did not wish this but neither one stopped._

_'Damn, they cannot be destroyed by any means I can think of except one.' "Shadow Clone," Sarutobi whispered. A clone of Sarutobi appeared and in unison with the original began a long seal sequence, their hands blurring. "Shiki Fuijin, (Reaper Death Seal)"_

_The jutsu completed both Sarutobi and his clone leapt forward to grapple with the golems of the First and Second. A pale white form appeared behind Sarutobi as the golems were held. Then, a hush fell across the whole of Konoha as the presence of Death was felt._

_In the southern shelter, the Raikage and Yugito both felt it strongly. "Raikage-sama, the Nibi can sense the power of a tailed beast nearby being released, and possibly of a second. With the feeling of death so close by, it will make the other beasts rage and possibly make the vessels lose all control. Since I am essentially the Nibi I can keep it under control and calm or subdue the others."_

_The Raikage nodded, "Then go do what you must to help the situation."_

_The Dragon masked ANBU that had remained near them stepped up, "I shall accompany her and insure she is not attacked by Leaf forces._

_The Sand forces felt the presence of Death and flinched but held in place._

_The Sound forces felt it, broke and ran._

* * *

Hiashi could barely stand he was so exhausted. Multiple cuts littered his forearms and a deep gash on his side revealed how close to dying he had come. He looked at the fleeing Sound ninja in amazement. The feeling of imminent death was wasted on Hiashi as he had already felt it for the past hour. He glanced about at the other 3 Hyuuga standing and nodded. One tore off the shirt from a dead Sound genin and bandaged Hiashi's wounded side. The other two checked the fallen Hyuuga for life signs and began to aid their clansmen as the relief force of Anko, the elder Ino – Shika – Cho trio, and ANBU squad 2 arrived.

Hiashi looked up at them in pain, "Welcome to the Hyuuga estate. I would invite you all in for tea but it seems that the uninvited guests have broken the cups."

The members of the relief force all gaped at Hiashi for a moment before they burst out in hysterical laughter. Hiashi chuckled a bit until the pain from his side forced him to stop. The relief at living and the fear that had been standing over all there broke. The spirit of Konoha would not fail today.

Cat composed herself quickly and told her squad, "Prepare to pursue the enemy. Kill those that resist. Accept surrender of those that wish to give up." The squad nodded as one and headed in pursuit of the fleeing Sound forces

Anko gathered what chakra she could and summoned a dozen horse sized snakes. "Go with the ANBU squad. Guard whatever prisoners they take." The snakes nodded and followed after ANBU. Anko turned and spoke to the three warriors, "Inoichi, have your team help the Hyuuga with their wounded and sweep the area afterwards. I'll go inform Ibiki and get some more relief out here and get some genin to police these bodies and get on search and rescue of the civilian areas."

Inoichi nodded. Anko did not really have superiority over him bit her commands made sense and were what needed doing. Anko ran off toward the nearest shelter to get in touch with Ibiki.

* * *

Naruto stood in anger as his blue charka flared around him. Flashes of purple appeared and disappeared in the blue as the Kyuubi's chakra mixed in with his own. Naruto made the cross seal for his favorite jutsu as the feeling from the presence of Death washed over them.

_Somewhere inside Naruto:_

_The Kyuubi felt something it had felt before. The overwhelming dread. The feeling of impending doom. It shuddered in fear as it recalled how it came to be sealed into the boy._

**_"NO!! I will not be taken now! I will not go into death like this!_**

_The Kyuubi flared its entire chakra in an attempt to break the seal. The seal itself was bolstered by Naruto's own flaring chakra in that moment and held. But massive amounts of demonic chakra flooded through the seal into Naruto_

"Taiju Kage Bunshin! (Mass Shadow Clones) Naruto yelled. He had expected a couple hundred clones from the chakra he felt when the Kyuubi chakra flooded his system and supercharged the jutsu by a factor of 10.

Over two thousand clones stood around the clearing and into the tree branches around it.

Gaara looked at the sea of blondes around him and was stunned enough to drop Sakura to the ground. She gasped air in relief as she looked at all the Narutos.

The clones pulled out shuriken and began bombarding Gaara as a pair pulled Sakura to safety. Gaara was forced to protect himself with his sand from the onslaught. Most of the shuriken dispersed back into chakra after doing damage which prevented Gaara from hurling them back. A small amount of his sand lashed out and destroyed dozens of clones but the rest continued with the attack. Gaara pulled his sand into a sphere around himself in his ultimate defense.

* * *

Tsunade was looking through one barely open eye as the pressure on her throat was released. She gasped heavily as she forced her lungs to suck in precious air. After a few panting breaths, she looked up to see her grandfather being held back by Sarutobi. The feeling of death's presence was almost over-powering this close to the jutsu. "Sensei, No!" she cried out.

Sarutobi grimaced in pain as wooden spikes were driven into his legs as the First attempted escape. "I have no choice, Tsunade. They cannot be killed so their souls must be taken away from this place. There was no other way to stop them and save you and Jiraiya. Watch over Konoha and Minato's boy, Tsunade. He will be greater than all of us one day. Guide him on the right path. Farewell."

"Fuin!" (Seal)

Tsunade saw both golems of her relatives turn to dust on the grip of Sarutobi and his clone. The bodies of 2 Sound genin fell to the ground as the dust blew off into the wind. She laboriously crawled over the Sarutobi as the ANBU closed in to check on her and Jiraiya. The Old Man had a small smile on his face as he lay quietly in death, knowing he had saved his two most precious people remaining in this life.

The ANBU milled around for a moment as if unsure what to do next. Their Hokage was dead and no one was in charge. Jiraiya was unconscious but breathing. Tsunade cursed under her breath as they all looked at her. She did not want to lead anyone but they all were looking at her. She had loved the role of Sannin because of the respect it gave her in the eyes of others. Now that title was putting her in a position of leadership because there was no one else to turn to.

Coughing first, she croaked out from her abused throat, "What is the situation?"

"The Sound forces are retreating. The Sand forces are at the western wall but we hold the gate. They are holding in place as if waiting for something. There was a flash of demonic chakra that felt like the Kyuubi when Hokage-sama did his jutsu but that faded quickly. However, another different source is growing. Both came from a battle just south of the western gate outside the walls."

'Naruto and Gaara. Just wonderful. It sounds like the demons felt the Shiginami's presence and panicked and Naruto kept his contained but Gaara hasn't.' Tsunade looked over at the still unconscious Jiraiya. He was always the tactician of the Sannin. "Ok, send some jonin teams to harass the Sound into a full retreat. ANBU squads take defensive positions inside the walls and prepare to repel the Sand if they start to advance again. Pair up chunin teams and have them patrol the interior of the village to find any enemies within the walls. Genin on search and rescue in the parts the Sound over-ran." The ANBU nodded as one and flashed off to follow orders.

* * *

One frustrated clone leapt at the sphere and landed on it with both feet before jumping away. This inspired more clones to begin doing the same. The idea spread around quickly and soon clones were jumping high into the air to land on the sphere. The bombardment of the impacts dispersed some clones but the sphere was slowly being pushed into the ground of the clearing. A shout rose up form one. "Use you chakra in your feet as you land. It's like during tree climbing when you use too much. It does damage!" The rain of Narutos on the sphere continued. The top of the sphere was being deformed as the seconds passed. One pair of clones teamed up so one blonde was sent flying higher than ever to make a greater impact. More seconds crept by and the sphere cracked.

Gaara felt secure in his sphere at first. He was all alone with Mother. The tactic had served him well against more skilled enemies in the past. But this time something was wrong, In spite of his efforts the pounding on the sphere was doing damage. A sharp cracking noise sounded and a shard of sand compressed to sandstone cut along Gaara's arm.

Gaara winched in pain as he was cut by the sandstone. "Pain. I do not like paaaaaIIIIIIINNNNNNNN!" His soft whisper evolved into a shout as he flung his sand shield outward. Dozens of Naruto clones were dispelled as the sand flew outward. Several still fell from the sky to land on Gaara and begin pummeling the red head.

With a loud shout, Gaara exploded sand outward again destroying the clones attacking him. But this time the sand kept building up and filling the area with a monstrous shape.

* * *

Yugito and the dragon masked ANBU were closing in on the site of the battle just outside the city walls. They could see dozens of Naruto clones rising and falling above the trees. Yugito had felt the Kyuubi chakra flare quite clearly but it didn't continue past that flare. The other demonic chakra she felt was identified by the Nibi within her as being that of the Ichibi, Shukaku the Sand Demon.

The pair passed over the wall and approached a large clearing in the forest. Shattered trees surrounded the area. The growing pile of sand before them worried Yugito immensely. The Nibi within her was telling her a massive amount of demonic chakra was being released. Shukaku was being unleashed.

Dragon signed for a halt as a blonde carrying a punk haired girl headed out of the battle zone as the sand monster was destroying clones.

Yugito saw the blonde boy stop and sit the pink haired girl on a branch so Dragon and Yugito went to him.

"I'm fine, Naruto. It's just a cracked rib," Sakura was saying as the older pair moved closer.

"Uzumaki-san, what is your status?" Dragon asked.

Naruto looked up as Sakura made hand seals to generate healing chakra and press against her side.

"Um, deep trouble ANBU-san," Naruto told him. "There is no way I can take on that thing so I got Sakura out of trouble."

"Are you the original or a clone, Uzumaki-san?"

"Clone, the real deal is back there trying to figure out a way to beat this guy.

Yugito looked up at the giant sand tanuki and frowned. "Shukaku is almost out completely and nearly in charge of the boy's mind. Look, there on its forehead. The boy is about to use a forced sleep jutsu to let the demon take over. Once that happens it will take a bijou to fight against him and hope to win."

Sakura grunted, "We seem to be a tad in short supply of one of those."

Yugito looked at Naruto, "She is unaware of things like jinchuuriki?"

Dragon nodded to Yugito while Naruto looked scared.

Yugito just focused, "You are in luck, because I am one." The light haired Cloud jonin began emitting chakra from her body. The visible chakra formed around her body in the form of a large cat with 2 tails that stood about 10 ft. tall at the shoulder. Shukaku noticed the group now and turned to attack. It fired a blast of wind at them but the clone picked up Sakura and moved her again as Dragon and Yugito moved closer. The sand and air blast destroyed a half acre of trees.

Yugito continued closing in on Skukaku as the sand monster spat more chakra enhanced balls of air at her. Sakura and the clone landed near Dragon and filled him in on the fight so far.

Yugito closed to melee range of Shukaku and avoided a paw swipe. Yugito swung back and chakra talons cut off the sand demon's sand arm. The sand fell to the forest floor and dissipated once separated from the main mass. The sand flowed down and reformed the missing appendage. Yugito continued to dodge and slice to the amazement of the on looking Sand ninja.

Dragon looked at Sakura and the clone, "We need to find a way to wake the boy Gaara and then knock him out or seal the beast deeper inside of him. If we knock him out, I can bind him enough to keep the beast contained.

How the heck can we knock him out?" the clone cried out. "Gaara is over a hundred feet in the air!"

Dragon quickly outlined his plan then poked the clone in the forehead and dispersed it.

Naruto appeared within a minute as Sakura and Dragon waited. Dragon had out a simple pine cone which he now hurled under the Shukaku.

"Wood Style: Tree Growth."

The chakra infused pine cone reacted to Dragon's jutsu and from it a lodge pole pine sprouted and grew upward at an astonishing rate. The new tree impaled Shukaku's neck and kept the torso still for a few seconds.

Sakura stood ready with Naruto for the sand demon to be held in place. She funneled her chakra throughout her body to increase her strength then with a roar of effort that would impress a weightlifter hurled Naruto directly at the sleeping Gaara.

The shout alerted Shukaku to the incoming orange missile and its foreleg tried to intercept only to have Yugito slice off the sand limb once more. Naruto passed through the cloud of sand but lost most of his speed in the process. The punch that followed which would have likely killed Gaara only served to wake the red head.

'Kuso,' thought Naruto as he stood on the head of the Shukaku next to the now awake and enraged Gaara. The sand sprung up around Naruto's legs and trapped him.

"You disrupted my jutsu. You made me bleed. I am going to crush you a little bit at a time, Uzumaki Naruto. You will not take away my existence!" Gaara shouted.

The sand body of Shukaku shuddered as Yugito began to hack chunks of sand from it but Gaara did not care. His sand covered Naruto to the waist now and it began squeezing the blonde from the ankles up.

Naruto shouted in agony as the bones in his feet and shins were crushed by the sand. He grabbed Gaara by the neck but he knew the red head was just torturing him. He needed to do something that did not need signs to accomplish. His only thought, Rasengan.

Focusing past the pain, Naruto managed to pull out his incomplete jutsu. He had finished the second stage only days before with the help of Hiashi. 'Form the chakra. Make the Rotation. Pump up the power and hold it there.' Naruto almost lost focus as his femur cracked.

"Kuso, it's destabilizing already,' he thought as he pushed the blue white ball of chakra right at Gaara's face. The jutsu exploded right between the boys and hurled both off the now collapsing head of Skukaku. Both boys fell to the forest floor below with a sickening thump.

Gaara was too broken to move more than his head and looked over at Naruto. Naruto was crawling at the red head using his arms to drag his broken legs behind him. "No! Stay away from me!" Yugito landed next to the pair of genin as Naruto began to talk as he dragged himself forward.

"We are a lot alike Gaara. Both of us cursed. This lady is too. But when you threaten those precious to me, I will not stop. I will not surrender until I have won or I am dead. So I will stop you if you do not give up, even if I have to kill you."

"Why fight for precious ones? I have no one except myself. I fight only for myself. It's all I know. My brother and sister fear me. My own father tried to have me killed. My village sends assassins after me. Killing and proving myself strongest is all I know."

"That is the difference in us Gaara. I found people who accepted me as I am. I have friends who make me stronger with their help. A girl who knows everything I could tell her about me and all of my troubles. She cares for me anyhow. I think I love her but I don't know what love really is. That is why I will stop you. To keep her safe, I'll kill you if I have to."

Naruto's voice was a whisper now as his strength was fading fast. His head dropped to the forest floor as he finally succumbed to his injuries and passed out.

Yugito looked down at both boys. 'It would be so simple to get rid of both now. It would save my village a lot of trouble in the future but I think these two are more important than that somehow.' As Yugito mused, Dragon landed with Sakura and wood surrounded Gaara imprisoning him. Sakura ran to Naruto and flinched as she saw the state of his legs.

"ANBU-san, we will need a medic here. Naruto's legs are crushed."

Dragon used his jutsu to form a wooden stretcher under Naruto when he heard ninja behind him.

He turned to see dozens of Sand ninja ready to attack.

* * *

Tsunade had gotten to the city wall when the sand form of Shukaku reared up above the tree line. The pair and most of the ninja reserve from the stadium recoiled in horror as it fought the glowing demon cat. When the tree and orange missile attacked the head of the sand beast, a cheer rang out from the ninja there. The explosion of the incomplete Rasengan sent the boys to the ground in the midst of the Sand forces made everyone quiet.

"ANBU, with me," Tsunade cried out and leapt down the wall to race into the woods. The ANBU followed in behind Tsunade.

Dragon formed a hand sign and held himself ready for attack. Sakura stood over the broken form of Naruto to protect him. Yugito flexed her fingers and chakra claws extended outwards. The trio looked at the mass of Sand ninja and waited.

Tsunade and the majority of Konoha's ANBU appeared in the trees above as sakura finished speaking. The Sand forces looked up and the general of the Sand forces called out, "We can still defeat your ninja here."

Tsunade frowned, "Even if you defeat us, we would kill most of your army here. Your home would be defenseless and the Stone country would roll over it and destroy Suna. Without this army you have here, even Waterfall could destroy Suna. We have both lost our leaders today. This is only our ANBU here. Konoha will survive even if we fall. Our walls still stand. Our jonin and chunin stand to defend them. The choice is yours. Retreat now or fight and lose everything."

A weak voice called out, "Stop, don't attack." The Sand ninja looked at Gaara.

"We are done here. We've lost. We can't beat them. They're too strong for us," Gaara said in labored breaths.

After a pause the general replied, "We shall take Gaara with us as we leave. You take those four."

Tsunade nodded. Dragon and Sakura lifted Naruto on the stretcher and with Yugito backed away from Gaara. Dragon gestured and the wood binding Gaara fell away. A pair of Sand ninja lifted him between them and the Sand ninja melted back into the forest. Tsunade and the ANBU made their way back to the wall.

"Get Naruto to the hospital fast," Tsunade ordered.

* * *

Next Chapter: Invasion and Loss: Aftermath

* * *

**End Notes:** For those who do not like my 'feeling of death' as not being a canon thing I fall back on 3 items, 1) Orochimaru felt something before he saw the Shiginami in the anime, 2) The barrier was down in my story so any feeling from the Shiginami would be felt in the area and not be contained, 3) Its my story and I'll 'feeling of death' if I want to.

As I said in my previous notes, I had written myself into a corner and found myself deleting a lot of material. I was attempting to follow a few more canon points but when I got to the battle of Gaara and Naruto, oops, no Toad Contract so no Gamabunta. I needed to go back and take Yugito from simple red herring bystander status to actual combatant. In the end, I was more satisfied with my own original work as opposed to rehashing canon again.

Sorry if I disappointed on the big fight however. My fight scenes are never really that detailed. Visually they could be stretched to fill a few animated episodes of course. If I ever do a re-write on this story, the fight scenes would be expanded.

Of course, another cliffhanger with Naruto getting the worst of things. It is like I have in my summary; for every good deed there is a price to be paid.

**Review Notes:**The Sandaime dying has always been a direct effect of the Impure Ressurection jutsu of Orochimaru. The golems simply cannot be stopped without their souls being removed. Also, the Death God would not leave without Sarutobi's soul from his body so I couldn't use 2 kage bunshins to do the seal.

There will be more Naruto / Hinata fluff next episode for those needing their fix.

Never fear. Sasuke will receive everything he deserves.

**Parting Shot:** My story has now received more than 208,000 page views. I thank you all for sticking with me and enjoying my story. Nearly 700 reviews as well.

My only shot this time is to people who put in their summary, "Summary sucks but story is good" If you put that, no one is going to read your story. Write the main point of your plot and have faith in yourself. A good hook gets them in. A good story keeps them in. Get your hook out there.


	25. Invasion and Loss Aftermath

Invasion and Loss: Aftermath

Recap: The invasion by the joint Sound / Sand forces has been driven off at terrible cost. The Hyuuga clan has been decimated and its compound destroyed. The Sound forces ran rampant through the eastern portion of Konoha killing hundred of civilians, But fortunately for Konoha, the wall breech was in the near abandoned Uchiha sector. The snake summon used to break through Konoha's wall had led Sound forces deep into the village before being dispelled by a late arriving Jiraiya. The Sound attack broke down with the loss of its primary weapon and was being driven back as a strike team rushed to relieve the besieged Hyuuga.

The Sand forces attack never truly was launched due to the fast reaction of Ibiki coordinating Konoha's defense and the sacrifice of ANBU squad 11. 'Team Apprentice' stopped the attempt by Sand to recapture the gates and took two of the Kazakage's children as captives.

Sarutobi was forced to call upon the Death god and sacrifice himself to defeat the summoned First and Second Hokages. The aura of its chakra caused the Sound forces to break and flee. Naruto engaged Gaara and with the timely aid of Sakura and Yugito of the Cloud defeated him. The cost to Naruto was in the form of crushing damage to his legs.

* * *

Tsunade sat down heavily in the chair of her hospital office. She had been in surgery for hours and was exhausted. She looked at the sleeping forms of her apprentices Shizune and Sakura on the couch. Tsunade knew the without 'her girls' the death toll would be much higher. The sole month of extra training to the hospital corps had also reaped many benefits to the wounded. Dozens of ninja would be able to recover from wounds sustained in the invasion. Lethal wounds were healed into crippling ones, and crippling ones healed to be recovered from with only cosmetic damage. The hospital was filled beyond overflowing with wounded. Those ninja with non-life threatening injuries were being taken to one of the now emptied shelters with minimal nurse and mainly civilian caretakers.

Tsunade looked down at the list of fatalities sent up from the morgue. The list was hours old and held hundreds of names. She knew there had been more since then. Some ninja and civilians had been too grievously wounded to survive. It was done quickly and was just a listing on many sheets of paper. The names of the dead were added to pages headed by letters of the alphabet. The pages of 'H' made her shudder. Dozens of Hyuuga ninja had paid the ultimate price to defend their families. Elders and children outnumbered ninja survivors but the clan as a whole would survive. The fact that so many of the Sound forces could barely qualify as chunin was the saving grace for the Hyuuga. The jonin level members Hiashi had brought to defend the non-combatants had saved them all.

She rubbed her face as she fought off sleep for a few more minutes. She would have to talk to Hiashi when she made her rounds later. The Hyuuga Byakugan would make many of them excellent medics but the clan would not allow it in most cases. The wounded Hyuuga that had been attended to on the spot with basic first aid and healing jutsu would all recover completely. They could see the best places to apply the most effective healing while conserving their chakra.

The need for sleep and chakra depletion finally caught up to the Slug Sannin and she closed her eyes and drifted off.

* * *

Jiraiya frowned at Ibiki as the reports were brought to him. He had to deal with the overall political side of things right now as Tsunade dealt with the hospital. Konoha was still running in war mode so the division of labor was best right now. Someone who knew what needed to be done without a Hokage directing them was running each section of the system. But soon enough, things would come back under control and the need for a single leader would come up. Currently, Kakashi had assumed control of ANBU, as he was a former high-ranking captain. Ibiki handled defensive measures within the city. Anko was in charge of prisoners of war. New missions would have to wait.

Jiraiya's extensive spy network, reputation and political connections had given him the means to deal with the Fire daimyo as well as the Wind daimyo. All out war loomed if things could not be toned down and quickly. The Fire daimyo on the verge of sending his samurai and militias in an invasion of the Wind country based on the attack on Konoha. The Wind daimyo claimed innocence in the attack as Suna had not done so at his request but he was not backing down either. Luckily, the Lightning Country and Cloud had sent word that peace still remained between them and Konoha. Water Country and Earth Country were silent beyond the simple messages, 'We are not at war'. The smaller nations had sent word as well that war was far from their minds. Konoha might be reeling at the moment but with the backing of the military of the Land of Fire; both Konoha and its host nation were safe.

"Jiraiya-sama, you should rest. A few hours of sleep right now would make things easier for you," Ibiki said. "You are our public face right now. You need to look rested and confident, not worn and harried."

"I know, Ibiki. I just don't know how Sensei did his job. I am only looking after things until a new Hokage can be chosen but I never realized how much went through his hands. He got everything done and was still able to be out in the village with the people."

Ibiki just nodded and waited until Jiraiya got the hint and left the office with him.

* * *

Kakashi glared at Danzo. "I know you have several dozen of your Root ninja stashed away in hiding, Danzo. Get them to report to me within the next hour for assignment or you will be labeled a traitor to Konoha."

Danzo looked at Kakashi with a calm gaze, "You know there is no Root anymore, Kakashi. Sarutobi disbanded it years ago. Besides, it is not in your power to decide anything against me."

"I was placed in charge of ANBU by the order of Jiraiya, Tsunade as well as Hokage-sama's former teammates. You are in a bad place now, Danzo. If the rest of Konoha found out that you had a private little army that sat on its hands while so many died yesterday, you would not live past tomorrow."

"Are you threatening me, Kakashi?" Danzo growled.

"No," Kakashi replied in an icy voice. "I am promising you."

Danzo blinked at the cold contempt Kakashi voiced at him and nodded slowly, "I might be able to find a few ninja being trained by private parties to aid you. But know this, Kakashi; I remember who my enemies are."

Kakashi nodded and left.

* * *

Anko looked into the converted shelter. Over a hundred Sound captives sat in small groups about the room. Most looked scared but a few seemed to be quite relaxed. The only thing they had in common was the matching gray shorts, white tank top and white socks they all wore. All captives had been forced to surrender their clothing and submit to a full cavity search before being accepted as prisoners. The few that would not were executed on the spot. Konoha ninja were not in the mood to deal with trouble and after several jonin were cut down, the lower ranked shinobi almost fell over one another to disrobe and bend over. The few Sand captives were being held in the old police station jail.

"Take them one at a time to be interrogated. Start with the genin first. I doubt you will get much from them but it will give us an idea who the true leaders in the group are. We should be able to get their original plans as well from piecing together their ordered objectives," Anko told the interrogators. "Put the ones you talked to in a separate area so that not seeing any returning might scare them enough to shake loose a bit of extra information. We need the location of their village and names of the clans and leaders outside of Orochimaru. Save the tougher nuts for Ibiki."

The interrogators went about their job.

* * *

Hinata looked at the wreckage of the Hyuuga compound. Clan member were sorting through the damaged buildings. She was not used to dealing with the demands of leadership but with her father in the hospital for the foreseeable future, someone needed to lead. Her grandmother had refused the duty saying that while she had the advantage of age, she had never been a leader. The elderly matron would advise Hinata but left all final decisions to the girl. Things that required major decisions were saved for Hiashi, but for now Hinata was the final authority.

"No, we will salvage and repair the Main Building later on. The smaller houses are in better condition as they were further back into the compound," Hinata told the work crews. "We need to have enough places for our clan to live in without being over crowded. With our loses …" Hinata paused but continued on, "With our losses we will have to do a lot to recover and special treatment for the Main building over the rest of the clan will be the wrong message to those that were injured and to those that lost close family."

The crew nodded and bowed to Hinata. She turned to see her grandmother watching her and give a short nod of approval. "Your grandfather would have chosen to have the Main House repaired first Hinata but I agree with your decision. He was a proud man and felt the Main Branch was better than the Cadet Branch in all things. This led to a major rift in the clan. Some of this superior attitude leaked into your father but even so he knew what they had to deal with due to his brother. The rift is mostly gone at this moment due to your father's actions yesterday and you are wise enough to know instinctively not to squander the price he paid in blood to heal it."

Hinata blushed briefly at her grandmother's praise. She was not sure what her father would have decided, but either way; once the Cadet Branch houses were restored she would have the Main House repaired. She smiled briefly at how her sensei's lessons on control were coming in handy when applied to leadership.

She thought back on the previous day and the fighting as she walked toward the badly damaged Main Building. Her actions on the Sand ninja Kankuro were decidedly violent and not in her normal character. In the fight, she embraced the same idea that she had back months ago in her misunderstanding with Naruto. Hinata would not act like that, but Rabbit could. When she embraced the idea she was direct, effective and lethal. She had control. She just needed to continue to apply that attitude to leadership. Think about the objective, make decisions, and keep in control. The right projection of leadership was as important as the decisions made.

She looked at her still dirty clothes form the battle the day before. She needed to wash up and get into clean clothes. A spare uniform would have to do for now but that would project the right attitude until the situation in the village relaxed.

* * *

Kiba and his older sister Hana were on the search and rescue squads with many other Inuzuka. Both were mentally numb by now. Bodies were all they were finding, ninja from both Konoha and Sound, civilians. Kiba had broken down at one point in tears when he found a dead toddler crushed under a building knocked over by the giant snake. His sister let him weep for a few minutes before patting him on the shoulder to get him moving again. This was the least glamorous part of being a ninja. Most never waited around to see the aftermath and genin all over Konoha were learning the hard way as they gathered the fallen.

"Come on little brother, we need to keep moving. We were assigned to help outside the walls since we finished our sweep inside the city."

Kiba nodded dully and they moved through the gap in the wall. Artisans were already working on clearing the rubble in the gap to begin repairs. Talk of a new gate and the final razing of the Uchiha sector were already circulating as rumors. Kiba did not care either way right now. He was tired of death already.

The Sound staging area outside the wall was the site of a major battle in the Sound retreat. Few Leaf ninja had fallen here and their bodies were removed before light faded last night. Sound bodies were still scattered in the brush. A small clearing ahead had a burnt smell coming from it. But his ears picked up a faint sound.

Kiba stepped into the clearing to find a coffin with ink seals painted all over it and a number 4 on it. Two burnt circles on the ground showed in the dirt. The noise was coming from inside of the coffin. The smell of sweat and fear leaked from within it. "Hana! Over here, I found something!" Kiba cried out. The sound of his voice caused a whimpering cry from inside the coffin.

"Please, help me." A girl's voice was barely heard.

Kiba frowned as he pulled out a kunai and sliced into the ropes holding the box closed. Hana came up as he was cutting but did not stop him. Both were tired of seeing bodies and even finding an enemy alive was preferred to doing nothing. Kiba lifted the lid to see a long dark haired girl. She was naked except for seals painted all over her body. Hana turned to one of her dogs and sent him back to the village for a stretcher squad and someone who knew about seals.

Kin squinted her eyes in the bright daylight. The burning had stopped so long before that she had no idea how long she had lain there. On the verge of everything she was being destroyed, it had stopped. The process had left her too weak to move or even call out when the sounds of battle had come over and passed by. Even now she had no energy. She did see the Leaf insignia on the ninja hovering over her. She was still too weak and drained to move but tears were streaming down her face and her weak voice came out clearly. "He said he loved me. He promised me I would help him. That I was special in his plans. He lied to me. He just used me." Kin broke down and her words became incoherent after that as Kiba gently lifted the Sound genin from the coffin into his strong arms.

* * *

Ayame moved around quickly in the ramen stand. The restaurant portion of the building had taken some damage but the original stand was untouched. The proximity of Ichiraku's to the damaged part of the city made for a lot of hungry people. One of the block captains had told them to provide food to the ninja and salvage teams and the village would pay them for it. Just get the signatures for the food. Teuchi was cooking at full speed and was glad to do something to help in his own way. Ayame had not been this busy since the last time Choji and Naruto had a ramen-eating contest. Even busy, her mind kept turning back to what a few people had said while eating. Naruto was in the hospital in critical condition. She looked up to see the young man from the day before waiting for ramen. Ayame blushed as he smiled at her.

"What can I help you with today?" she asked him. "Oh, my name is Ayame. Thank you for saving Iruka and the other teachers yesterday. They are all customers here."

"I'm Haku. It was no trouble. I enjoyed being useful to someone."

"I have not seen you around here before."

"I recently moved to Konoha and I have almost recovered from some wounds I received before arriving. I am sure my doctor will be quite upset at me for exerting myself like that but I couldn't stand around and do nothing. If possible, I would like a single miso ramen. A friend has been telling me for some time about how that is the best kind.

Ayame hurried to pick up more orders once she had Haku's. For some reason she could not keep her eyes off the young man while she worked. Once he had finished, he complimented Teuchi and paid for his meal. He smiled at Ayame as he left and she was so smitten that her father had to whap her with his ladle to snap her out of it.

* * *

Sasuke grumbled as he was on a clean up squad clearing wreckage near his own property. Most of the Uchiha compound was gone, crushed under the body of the snake that broke through the wall. His parent's house was gone, along with all his belongings. Kurenai and Shino were with him along with a number of older Academy students. He felt that this labor was beneath his dignity but Kurenai got in his face when he tried to just order around the Academy students.

"I don't care how high and mighty you think you are, Genin. You were assigned to this job and you WILL do this job," Kurenai told him in a tone that would not bear questioning.

Sasuke did not seem fazed by her tone, "I don't see Kiba anywhere. He is on the same squad as me and Shino. He should be here doing this grunt work with us."

"Kiba is off doing other duties that his clan can accomplish better than anyone except a Hyuuga. Since there are so few available Hyuuga right now, he had been assigned to the tracking teams for now. Now, back to work, Genin."

Sasuke growled at being addressed as Genin like it was his name. This red-eyed Uchiha wannabe would get hers too. Oh yes. His list was getting longer. The Loser. His Wenches. Kakashi. Now this over endowed pleasure woman playing at being a ninja. Once he had enough power, all of them would pay.

* * *

Iruka sat in a chair in one of the shelters converted to hospital overflow. He was excused from work while he was kept under observation. His ruptured eardrums would not be attended to for days. The medics would be able to fix them with chakra healing to be as good as new. Until that happened, he was mostly deaf. Since he had nothing else wrong with him, he volunteered to sit with several newly orphaned children. He told them stories of his own youth and being an orphan himself. The children were still mostly in shock at losing ninja parents. Having someone there who had lost parents in war was a small comfort but it was all they had right now. Iruka saw a small girl shudder as she broke into tears again. He carefully walked over to her as his balance was still off along with his hearing. Iruka lifted the girl to his lap and held her close as she cried. Instinctively, he began to sing a lullaby his own mother had sung for him decades before. The off key sounds of comfort sounded out in the makeshift ward as the survivors began to find some healing.

* * *

Hiashi stirred after his surgery and looked around the room. He saw his nephew dozing in the chair next to his bed. The boy's own minor wounds had been attended to but a large chunk of his long hair was missing due to a fire jutsu that had gotten too close. Hiashi chuckled softly as he knew how much the boy took pride in his hair. The chuckle woke Neji from his doze.

"I apologize, Hiashi-sama. I fell asleep waiting for you to awaken from surgery."

"Don't worry about it, Neji," Hiashi replied. "I assume you are standing guard?"

"In part, Hiashi-sama. There is not enough medical equipment to go around. Since you were relatively stable with a non life-threatening wound, I asked to be assigned as your 'monitor'. I will be released to duty tomorrow since I suffered chakra exhaustion and food pill overdoses yesterday.

"How bad was it, Neji? How many died?"

"In the clan, we lost thirty eight trained ninja, four Cadet Branch elders who fought a delaying action to allow the children and non ninja clan members to evacuate. Five wounded who not expected to recover completely and thirteen wounded who are expected to recover enough to resume duty. All the bodies have been recovered. You might be glad to know that Akashatsu is expected to recover in spite of bad wounds again."

Hiashi smiled at that. The Branch member who stopped the explosive kunai back on the day those rogue ninja tried to kidnap his daughters a couple of years back.

"How about Konoha?"

"We lost the Hokage but the Sannin seem to have things organized at the moment. In a week or so, the elders and clan leaders with have to choose a new Hokage."

Hiashi nodded once more and asked the one question he truly wished to have the answer to. "My daughters?"

"Both are fine, Hiashi-sama. Hanabi-chan is with the clan. Hinata-sama is directing efforts at the estate with permission from her sensei. It seems she tried to defer to Grandmother but Grandmother would not budge in her decision that Hinata would fill in. She offered to advise Hinata saying that Hinata would welcome the experience of the coming weeks in the future.

Hiashi nodded once more and smiled slowly. His side burned in pain and he had lost many clansmen. But somehow, surviving with his most precious intact was a huge weight off his shoulders.

* * *

Ibiki looked at his deployment map. Several jonin squads were harassing the remains of the Sound forces. Hawk reports showed an additional forty taken; ten of them above genin rank. He knew the big fish had already gotten away. Early interrogations of the genin taken within the village walls showed a great number of forced drafts from ninja clans in the Rice Field and fringes of Earth and Cloud. Orochimaru had filled his ranks with cannon fodder in the hope that quantity would make up for quality. It might have succeeded if not for one alert genin named Nara Shikamaru. Those few minutes of warning had been enough to prevent a slaughter in Konoha.

The Sand ninja were retreating from the Fire Country in good order. They had left behind many fewer dead but also had inflicted much fewer atrocities than Sound. The few Sand ninja captured included two of the Kazkage's children. They would make a good bargaining chip.

The discovery of one dead Sand team inside of Konoha was the only disturbing point. All had been brutally slain. None of the Konoha forces claimed those kills. Ibiki was concerned but not overly worried. Many Leaf ninja had died in that area. Likely after defeating the Sand the victors became victims themselves.

Ibiki looked at the ANBU deployments. Kakashi had browbeaten Danzo into producing 5 teams of his Root forces. Well, at least the old war hawk was cooperating. Knowing who those teams were would weaken Danzo's overall position, as no one knew the true extent of Root.

Local defense would be a problem for weeks. They needed to repair the west gates and patch the main wall in the northeastern part of the village. They could use the breech as a new gateway since there was none close to that part of the village. The Uchiha district was blight and now with most of it destroyed the village could condemn it and build something near the new gateway. Ibiki wrote that down as a possibility to bring up with the others. The new school was also gone but getting the Academy up and running was a low priority item for now.

Local forces were badly depleted. Nearly a quarter of Konoha's total force was out on missions when the attack happened. Ibiki was forced to ask retired and previously crippled ninja to fill in at non-vital locations within the village so the remaining force could deal with any threats that might arise. Less than 50 percent of the total pre invasion forces were available for that right now. Once search and rescue efforts were completed, the number would rise. Within a week, the total force would be above 75 percent again as ninja with chakra depletion and ninja with minor injuries recovered. Over 300 ninja dead or crippled was a staggering figure for a single battle. The number did not even account for civilian losses. Sound losses to date were almost twice that. So many genin sent to early graves by the Sound. Orochimaru did not care of the cost as long as it benefited him.

But, he reminded himself, a good number of the Sound captives were genin. Some of the ones pressed into service by Sound could be recruited to Konoha but that was also a future project. They would remain captives for some time before that could happen. Ibiki kept writing down ideas for making the defenses of Konoha better as the day wore on.

* * *

Tsunade finished another surgery and leaned back against the wall. The chunin would never be a ninja again. She just had to amputate his arm above the elbow to save his life. Damn, she needed a drink but the line of injured shinobi just was not getting shorter. Of course, all the tough cases were given to her. The simple ones never reached her. It was a part of being who she was.

She signaled to the nurse. Tsunade needed a break. Another medic could take over for a few of the surgeries. Tsunade was going to check on one of her personal patients. She walked down to the critical care unit and stopped at one bed. The blonde haired Naruto lay quietly under a forced sleep jutsu along with a heavy dosage of civilian painkillers. She looked at his chart. The medics had stopped counting fractures in his feet and shins at one hundred. They settled for using chakra to move all the bone splinters back into proper position and hope for the best. Few held out hope for the boy but surprisingly a handful of doctors and nurses predicted a full recovery for Naruto. They said it might take a few weeks or months but he would recover as good as new. She saw one of those doctors in the ward now and called her over. Whispering so the boy could not hear even if he had been awake, Tsunade asked why she felt Naruto would recover completely. The doctor smiled like she had a secret.

"It is not just faith, Tsunade-sama. It is fact. Before you came back, the boy made himself into a hero. He saved the Hyuuga heir in the fire that destroyed the school."

"I know what he did there. Sarutobi-sensei told me about that."

The doctor nodded, "But one thing that was likely not mentioned. The burns on his back never got infected, never made pus. They just were forced to heal via chakra infusions because the skin burnt off down to the muscle so there was nothing to heal on its own. His back should be a mass of scar tissue right now but it isn't. The scar tissue that we forced over the wound peeled off over time with perfectly flawless skin underneath it. It regenerated. We felt that his _guest_ made his body regenerate the wound to repair it once the skin was forced into place. That was why the nurse helping you with Naruto's surgery last night suggested getting the bones back into proper position. I did a diagnostic on him earlier. His chakra paths had been stressed when he was brought in here but they are already back to normal. The minor cuts and bruises on his body have faded and healed. The bones are already beginning to show signs of knitting together. All of this happened faster than the last time he was in here."

"The only thing I think sets him back is that he still feels every ounce of pain from his wounds. He heals fast but the pain never dulls for him until it does heal. Even pain killers only have a limited effect on Naruto. He was in agony for a month two years ago but he never cried over it. He whimpered a few times and shed some tears it we bumped it but he always was kind and thanked us for our efforts. He took time to pass out gifts people sent him for his heroics to the small kids in the pediatric ward. That boy is special Tsunade-sama. He gives people hope with his actions. An old adage says 'No good deed goes unpunished'. He pays for them in full measure in terrible ways. One day he will be a great man; if he survives."

Tsunade nodded slowly, still trying to understand the mystery of Naruto.

* * *

Sakura followed Shizune around as the older woman made her rounds in the hospital. She was still surprised at the sheer number of wounded. But deep down, she knew that half of these people recovering right now would be dead if the attack had come a month earlier. The Konoha Medical Corps was standing proudly once more. They had earned that privilege now and no one could take it away. It would only get better from here out.

The thoughts of greatness faded just as quickly as Shizune and Sakura turned down into the critical care area. Many of the ninja and civilians in this area would never leave it whole or even alive. Dozens moaned in pain or lay in sedated silence.

Sakura shuddered at the chill that would not leave her spine. Shizune noticed and gently smiled at Sakura and touched the teen's arm. This was the darker side of their profession, the ones beyond their power to help. They would try in any case but even effort could not chance the reality of things. Shizune finished her rounds over the next hour and decided Sakura needed one last stop.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked. She knew Shizune had no patients in this part of the hospital.

Shizune smiled. "Someplace else you need to see today, Sakura."

The pair turned the corner to come to a brightly colored hall. Sakura recognized the hall immediately, Maternity and Delivery. It was the hour for babies to be on display in the nursery and three newborns lay in bassinets for a few relatives to look at through the glass.

Shizune pulled Sakura right up to the glass to peer at the babies. "That is one thing you can't forget, Sakura. In the middle of all this pain and death, there is still new life coming along."

* * *

The second day after the invasion dawned clear. The last of the fires had been put out during the night and things looked peaceful. The hospital was still the busiest point in town and several ninja gathered in front of it. Jiraiya yawned as he saw Hinata and Sakura walking up with Anko. The four ninja walked into the hospital with a single destination. It was time to wake up Naruto.

Tsunade was waiting with Shizune in the critical care ward and smiled at seeing the team. She was ready to lift the forced sleep jutsu herself. It appeared that Hinata and Sakura had listened to her advice to both look clean and healthy so Naruto would not worry when he woke up. The Sannin lifted her hand over Naruto and whispered, "Release." Naruto flinched a bit and slowly opened his eyes.

The blonde boy flinched then slowly opened his eyes as the pain from his legs rushed into his consciousness. He groaned slightly before his eyes focused on the group in front of him. Tsunade stood on one side of the bed. She looked concerned like the doctor she was. Shizune stood a bit behind Tsunade as she always did when the women were together. On the other side, Hinata and Sakura stood at the rail with Jiraiya and Anko behind. A large part of his 'family' was here for him. A single tear of joy slid out of his eye.

"Hi everybody," he said in a weak voice.

"You had us all worried, gaki," Tsunade said with a slight smirk. "Do you remember what happened?"

Naruto's brow creased as he focused through the pain he felt to remember, "I was fighting Gaara. Sakura had just thrown me at him and the cat girl was fighting him too. His sand … his sand was crushing me when my Rasengan blew up again and knocked us both out, I think." Naruto paused there for a minute before continuing. "I remember a lot of pain after that. I was saying something to Gaara and trying to move but I am not sure what I was doing, then I woke up here."

Tsunade nodded. "Well, there seems to be no memory loss at least. You were hurt extremely badly, Naruto. Gaara's sand crushed your feet and shins. If you had been anyone else, we would have amputated them already. As it is right now, we are holding that option open if you don't show signs of healing. It is important that you do not try to move your legs at all. It is that serious, Naruto, so none of your normal hospital antics, understand?"

Naruto nodded. He could tell from the pain that he was in bad shape. "How is everyone else?"

Tsunade kept a grim face, "You don't need to worry about anything else but yourself right now Naruto. Your teammates have been worried about you."

Naruto looked back at Hinata and Sakura and blushed slightly, "You two okay?"

Both girls nodded. Hinata had tears running down her face after hearing Tsunade's diagnosis but smiled for Naruto anyway. Sakura answered for them, "We're fine, Naruto. You just get better so I can smack you over the head for being an idiot, ok?" She bent over and kissed him on the cheek. "I have to get back to work with Tsunade-sensei and Shizune-sensei. Hinata has more time than I do right now. There are still a lot of hurt people out there. I'll be by later to check on you." Sakura turned and left with Shizune to get back to her current duties.

Jiraiya stepped up. "When you get out of here, I'll have to get you to learn to summon toads, like me. A few of the big guys might have made a difference in that battle. Plus my apprentice can't be ending up in the hospital like this. I end up looking like a bad teacher. Would you believe they have me helping to negotiate between the Fire and Wind countries? I have no time to even do research!"

Tsunade growled at Jiraiya as he mentioned 'research'.

"I'll be back later, Naruto. Seems like one little lady wants to talk to you too." Jiraiya motioned his head at Anko and Tsunade who followed him out leaving Hinata alone with Naruto.

Hinata stood in silence after the door closed. Tears still ran down her face but her smile had faded. Naruto reached out his hand to her but he could not reach far enough.

"Hinata?" he said in a soft voice.

Hinata's bottom lip quivered as she lost control. She was just so tired at that point. All the living clan members looking to her while her father was in the hospital. All the dead needing their affairs settled. Hinata had barely been able to deal with all of those things without breaking down. But even the strongest of steel has a breaking point. She fell across Naruto hugging the blonde while laying her head on his chest. Naruto just lamely wrapped his arms over her shoulders and rubbed her upper back as she cried on him. "I thought I was going to lose you, Naruto," she managed to say between sobs.

Naruto made small comforting sounds. He really had no clue what else to do. No one had ever cried for him in his presence before. He just lay there until Hinata got some of her composure back. Once she had lifted her head, he smiled at her. The small honest smile that always warmed her and made her feel special.

"Feeling a little better now, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata blushed a bit and nodded at him. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I should not have cried on you like that."

Naruto made his classic grin, "It'll dry. As long as you are okay, I won't worry about it." He let the grin slip from his face, "Things are that bad out there? How is the Old Man coping?"

Hinata bit her lip, "Yes, they are bad. So many people have died. And the Hokage … he died too Naruto."

Naruto just stopped. The Hokage was dead. "How?" he said quietly.

"It was Orochimaru. He summoned some warriors that couldn't die. Hokage-sama sacrificed himself to stop them and save the lives of Tsunade-sensei and Jiraiya-sensei."

Naruto hung his head as thoughts of the Old Man flashed across his mind. No matter how alone he felt in his past, the Old Man was always there to somehow make things better. The boy lacked family in the true sense but the Old Man was the closest thing he had to one.

Hinata reached out again and took Naruto's hand. She squeezed it as he squeezed back, his tears silently falling.

* * *

Next Chapter: Four Candidates but no Takers. Who will be Hokage?

* * *

**No Parting Shot this time but Presenting the first and likely only omake side story I will ever write (until the next one)**

Minato had lost track of how long he had been laying around. He was just trapped in between realms wherever the Death god had left him. Spirits would pass through and go on to their own personal destinations in the afterlife but he was just stuck. He gave up on one song at counting up to two billion bottles of sake. Fantasies of Kushina were entertaining but there was not a whole lot he could do with those.

He was zoned out when he heard voices. He opened his eyes to see old Sarutobi and two others that looked like the First and Second.

"Oh wonderful, now I'm hallucinating. As if keeping somewhat sane was not hard enough."

Sarutobi chuckled, "Not this time, Minato. You have company."

The First looked around, "Kind of barren, isn't it?"

Minato nodded, "Very. Oh, Sarutobi, would you happen to have those cards you always carried around?"

Sarutobi reached into a pocket and pulled out a deck.

"Oh sweet! Deal 'em out."

A few thousand hands of cards later, the four Hokages were still telling stories.

"So there I am, facing off with Madara, and the dummy starts on a monologue! He starts going on how he is going to destroy Konoha then he just keeps going and going on about his brother and his eyes. So, I use my wood jutsu and give him a '1000 years of Pain'! The guy lost the fight right after that."

* * *

End Notes: Yes, Sarutobi bought it. I know a bunch of readers were hoping for a different outcome, but the events on Konoha alone have not reached that far out into the wider world yet. The most major out of Konoha changes so far in relation to my story vs. canon are this  
Orochimaru lives unscathed  
The Sound Four are taken down  
Temari and Kankuro are captured  
Kin lives by the simple fact of being in the casket that would have summoned the 4th.  
The lack of mid range missing ninja made Orochimaru recruit a LOT of genin level cannon fodder  
Naruto gets badly hurt again.

The changes will increase in the second part of my story.

* * *

Review Notes: Sarutobi died because the price of summoning the death god was the summoner's soul. A shadow clone will not cut it as it is not the whole thing. In canon, Sarutobi uses shadow clones because he cannot grab both Hokages and Orochimaru by himself and he could only use the jutsu once.

Yup, I was the first to admit, my fight scenes suck as far as details go.

One thing I have tried to put into my story overall is a slightly more militaristic feel to it. Training is one of the most important things in the military and improvement only comes with experience.

As far as power levels of my characters, I did not want to push a super Naruto or suddenly finding my characters are so awesome they can defeat any random adult jonin that wanders up.

People forget these are still 13 yr old kids. Someone older with the same level of ability is simply going to smack them around like any normal adult would do to a normal 12 - 13 yr old kid.

I was surprised that no one noticed Naruto get the same hit on Sasuke that he did in my genin exams. Well, the original did come out nine months ago so it wouldn't be that fresh.

To the anonymous reviewer: Yup, Konoha took a heavy hit in my story. I have felt that for the perceived damage the canon story doesn't show, there was not a whole lot of canon impact on Konoha as a whole. Yes, the anime shows bodies strewn about but they are just 'red vest' chunin for all the impact they have overall. I want my readers to know, hey, there IS an effect here. I am not going to pull a Star Trek and have the place back to normal the next episode. Even the anime at least showed some rebuilding going on in the filler that most writers ignore.

To Mwkillkenny84 and anyone else interested. I am not against anyone using my original ideas or situations in their own fics. I just would like to be recognized as the person who came up with it.


	26. Four Candidates, No Hokage

It has been over a month since my last update. Getting through 3 holidays, 5 birthdays in immediate family and an entire weekend ruined thanks to the city inspector not liking my lack of yard maintenance means my writing takes a back seat to life. Now, on with the story.

* * *

**Four Candidates but No Hokage**

* * *

Four days after the Invasion, the people of Konoha gathered for a mass burial ceremony. The combined death toll to Konoha crept higher as medics still tried to save the lives many of the worst wounded. The grieving would stretch on for months but this needed to be done now.

Nearly all of the off duty ninja attended the morning service for the Third and the fallen ninja forces. A smaller ceremony was planned in the late afternoon for those who were on duty during the morning ceremony. The threat of rain did not keep any away. Rows of ninja waited in silence as the priest said the prayers for the dead. After that, the line of ninja filed past the altar to lay a flower or to merely bow before leaving in their own thoughts.

Naruto could only watch the low clouds from his hospital bed. He had attempted to make shadow clones to carry him to the ceremony but his chakra had not even begun to recover as yet and he knocked himself out in exhaustion. All he could do was make his own prayers when the time for the ceremony came.

Hinata stood beside her father as Neji stood on Hiashi's other side. Hiashi had walked out of the hospital against medical advice for the ceremony and he was not the only one who had done so. He would return afterwards but the Hyuuga leader felt his place was with the clan not in a comfortable hospital bed. The seven year old Hanabi stood with her grandmother behind the other and the remainder of the Hyuuga behind them. Hiashi would occasionally steady himself by placing his hand on Neji's shoulder and Hinata would touch her hand to her father's side. The clan pretended not to notice the pale green glow that came from Hinata's hand every time she reached out but Hiashi would then regain his stance and remove his hand from Neji.

Sakura managed to stand near the front as the lesser of Tsunade's apprentices. In the small group she knew were Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya. Various elders and retired ninja surrounded the front group along with the Asuma and Konohamaru, the son and grandson of the Third. Few spoke but the sound of Konohamaru's tears said enough for everyone.

* * *

"We need to elect a new Hokage as soon as possible," said one elder in the Tower meeting room later that day. The clan heads in attendance all nodded in agreement. A number of people not affiliated with clans but powerful nonetheless were also in attendance. Sarutobi's former teammates presided over the meeting as senior elders.

"We have a number of candidates already in mind," began Homura. "First in mind are the remaining Sannin, Tsunade and Jiraiya. Both are well known in the Elemental Countries and would project a strong message to the other villages that we remain an eminent village."

"There is also Hatake Kakashi, student of the Fourth. He has a strong reputation and would be able to serve for many more years than the Sannin," said another clan leader.

"The notes by the Third indicate Morino Ibiki could be a potential candidate."

"Danzo-sama has much respect and could serve well as Hokage."

"No, Danzo is good in his area of expertise but as he is crippled, the other nations would think we are weakened."

The meeting dragged on for another hour with no other names being put forward that more than half could agree on. The nominations had a moment of comedy when someone brought up Naruto as a possible candidate. The clan leader who did so told everyone that the boy had potential and he does desire the position. Homura simply pushed that joke aside by merely saying, "Too young and still a genin."

Morino Ibiki was sitting in the chair before the elders wondering why he was even being bothered right now.

"I have no desire to be Hokage or anything beyond my position in Intelligence. I will admit that I know how people's minds work better than most. However, that does not make me a good candidate as a public figure. I use fear not leadership to do my job. You need a good public face to inspire the village, not one that frightens small children. I am better as the Boogy Man than the Hokage."

Kakashi was three hours late for his interview. He looked at the empty meeting room and went home.

Tsunade sent a message back that she was busy in the hospital right now and could not be bothered.

Jiraiya was asked to come to the panel after the negotiations but he never arrived. He was eventually located peeping at the hot springs.

The various parts of the leadership of Konoha remained separated at the present time. Ibiki ran defense and intelligence. Kakashi dealt with the ninja. Tsunade continued running the medical corps. Jiraiya was handling political things. A week passed with nothing being done about choosing a Hokage. Cleanup in Konoha was proceeding according to what needed doing. Buildings that could be repaired were starting to get fixed. Wreckage was being cleared. Life went on.

* * *

Naruto was getting VERY sick of milk. Every two hours he was brought a large glass of it and had to drink it down while the nurse looked on. He tried to get out of it but they would always send in the same red headed aide to get him to drink when he refused. The power of that pout was truly remarkable.

A week after having awakened in the hospital had been tiresome for the hyperactive blonde. The nurses were telling him his legs were improving but never said much more than that. Tsunade was more forthcoming on information but not by much.

"Stop bugging me about when you are getting out of here, gaki! You are in here for at least another month. The bone fragments are still floating in your feet and ankles. The chakra treatments we have been able to give you are pushing them back into place each time and hoping they fuse together like they should. Your leg bones are doing much better than the feet. All the fractures there are set correctly and healing faster than anything I have ever seen before."

Sakura passed by several times a day trailing behind Shizune and Hinata was trying to spend a few minutes each day with him as well. Anko had only stopped by once since he had been awakened but he understood that. He missed Jiraiya. The old coot had not been by since the first morning.

His only mistake up to this point had been in stating his boredom to Shizune. After the next visit from the doctor, he found himself with a pile of school texts to study, medicine, history, tactical theory, botany. A book on origami had given him the idea to fold the pages of other books into decorative pop ups which earned him a bonk on the head.

Naruto just leaned back when no one was there and tried to relax. The pain had at least faded to a dull throbbing ache and itching sensation. He picked up another book and stared at the pages for a while. He had nothing better to do.

* * *

Anko sighed as she looked down the prisoner list. The initial interrogations were over and the picture they painted was ugly. Many of the Sound forces captured were actually conditioned to believe in Orochimaru in a fanatical way. She found few who did not. Those few had been moved to the separate facility in the old police jail with the Sand captives. Strangely enough, the most informative prisoner had been the genin the Inuzuka boy, Kiba, had brought in. She had survived some ritual Orochimaru had planned and it had broken her conditioning. She sighed at how being betrayed by the person you loved would do that to a person.

The hour struck on the clock near her and the first load of genin prisoners were being shipped out to the Daimyo's prison mines. She did not like doing that but the Daimyo had been adamant about the prisoners. All the genin being sent out had killed civilians and so fell to the Daimyo's justice. They were simply criminals in his eyes, not prisoners of war. The few higher level ninja captured would go a more thorough interrogation before any bounties or missing status rewards would be collected.

Anko looked ahead to getting back to training again. Maybe she could take the brats out on a field survival mission once Naruto was back on his feet; a nice relaxing C Rank vacation. Yeah, that sounded nice. Maybe bring along Iruka so she could play tease the chunin. She sighed again. Before any of that could happen, she needed to deal with all the prisoners one way or another. Once they had a Hokage again.

* * *

Jiraiya rubbed his tired eyes as the diplomats finally reached an agreement. Full scale war had been averted with the Sand Village formally surrendering to the Leaf. The gruesome discovery of the Kazakage and his entourage in the desert was the deciding factor. Judging by the state of the bodies, the deaths had been more than six months before. That made it known the ninja of the Sand Village had clearly been manipulated for some time. The best part was the fact the Sand had only captured a pair of teams missing from the western forest before the attack. That would make the exchange for the dead Kazekage's children go much easier for the Sand.

Now he only had to worry about the old farts and the clan heads. They were clearly trying to make Jiraiya the de-facto Hokage because of the past week of negotiating on behalf of Konoha. The Daimyo had stated a preference of one of the Sannin to succeed old Sarutobi. This was bad for Jiraiya as the man preferred the Toad Sennin over the Slug Princess. Jiraiya knew if the Daimyo came out and asked him to be Hokage; he would likely cave in and accept.

Granted, a part of him desired the recognition. For most of his early years, he had been even worse as a ninja than his current apprentice. Once he finally reached his adult growth is when things changed for him. His teen years behind him and the constant need to adjust his skills to match his steadily growing body allowed him to move ahead. Jiraiya had been a solid chunin as a teen but seeing Tsunade and Orochimaru reach jonin status before him had hurt him badly. His actions in his desire to catch up had not been pretty and he still regretted some of those reckless actions to this day.

When Sensei had offered the trio the most coveted summoning contracts in Konoha, he had jumped at the chance. The contracts already matched their respective personalities quite clearly. But the Toad Boss, Gamabunta, had nearly rejected Jiraiya as a summoner. The massive toad was not impressed by the white haired young man in the least. It took a month of grueling and degrading work satisfying the demands of a dozen lesser toads to even reach the point when Gamabunta would return. The Toad Boss could not doubt the commitment or the drive of the future Toad Sage and finally accepted Jiraiya as a summoner.

Their relationship had been tricky since then but the toads had seen the true Jiraiya underneath the façade he showed the world. Naturally, they always messed with him simply to get a reaction from the man. In spite of the intentional disrespect many toads showed him, the white haired man never wavered in his commitment to the toads.

He would need to pass the contract on soon and would have to get Naruto to meet Gamabunta and see if the blonde matched his father in earning the respect of the Toads.

* * *

Sasuke lay back on his cot. Without his own house to live in, he was forced to stay in the dormitory like a commoner. He had managed to recover a few of his things from the wreckage but not nearly enough. All that survived of the legacy of his clan was the underground areas; the jutsu vault and the hidden meeting area in the family shrine. Talk was that the village would condemn the entire compound and pay him some filthy lucre for what the Uchiha once prized. One more item to add to his List.

His treatment since the Invasion had been poor to say the least. Random villagers had disrespected him that afternoon calling him 'Uke-chan' and laughed at the match he had with the Loser in the finals. The curse seal pulsed inside of its containment as his thoughts raged into the night.

* * *

Kin sat in her jail cell and just stared at the wall. Her chakra was slowly returning to its normal levels after her experience. She was not looking forward to prison. But she knew that was her likely destination. She could remember all the things she had done for Orochimaru but it was almost like watching someone else do those things as well. The interrogator had said she was conditioned and that the shock of Master's; no not Master; Orochimaru's betrayal had broken it.

At least she was not in the shelter prison with the head cases. Some of the others in the jail had talked about how some of the head cases in the shelter were plotting to escape and return to Orochimaru. Her eyes drooped closed as she realized; if he had not betrayed her, she would be doing the same.

One aspect of the shelter jail she was wishing she could get was the gym shorts and tank top. They sounded infinitely better than the neon pink jumpsuits she and all of her fellow jail detainees were wearing. The males had tried to tear off the sleeves to look more macho but the one man who managed it was taken out and returned in a dark green spandex unitard. The next day he begged for the pink jumpsuit back.

"Tsuchi, you have a visitor," called out the guard.

'Great, another interrogation session,' Kin thought as she got up and followed the guard.

The guard opened a different door than Kin was used to and pointed inside, "Station number 2."

Kin entered the room and saw a long room with a glass or plastic wall down the middle and several stations where people in jail could talk with people from outside. A familiar boy about her age sat at station 2.

She sat in silence and waited. "Hi, I um wanted to see if you were doing all right," he said lamely.

"Uh, hi. You were in the Exams, right?"

"Yes, I'm Inuzuka Kiba. I, um, found you the other day."

"Oh."

"I guess you don't remember that. You were kind of out of things. I wanted to check on you sooner but most prisoners are not allowed visitors. My mom got me clearance to visit since you were in with the 'good' prisoners."

"'Good' prisoners?"

'Yeah, ones that might be able to be rehabilitated. Even have the chance to join Konoha if things work out."

Kin looked down before saying, "Um, Kiba, I'm not exactly a 'good' person. During the Exams, I helped cripple and kill as many other genin as I could."

Kiba nodded, "I understand that. But everyone went into that Exam knowing it could happen. There was a chance of the same thing happening to anyone in that thing. But all the people in here, like you, are not hard core Orochimaru followers and also did not hurt or kill any civilians during the Invasion."

In a soft voice Kin said, "I was hard core until a few days ago. Maybe I should just let them take me to prison and let me rot."

"No, you are better than that."

"NO I'M NOT! A FEW DAYS AGO I WOULD HAVE KILLED ANYONE HERE AND LIKED IT IF HE ASKED ME TO! I WOULD..." Kin paused her rant as she realized she was crying. "I would have died for him; willingly died for him. I almost did but he lied to me about it. I would have fought for him because he cared about me. He makes you feel special, feel wanted. He draws you in until you give him everything. Then he uses you up. There are rumors of secret experiments. You saw the arms of my former teammate; metal tubes in his arms to make wind and sound. He is one of the lucky ones. Curse seals to make you one of his 'elite' but all they really do is bind you tighter to him. Now, I just want to see him destroyed. Him and everything he built. I can't do that from a prison cell so I have nothing left but anger and hope someone else does it for me."

Kiba sat in silence for a moment before responding, "You know something? If you were as bad as all that, you would not have cried like you did when I found you. There is something inside of you he has not touched yet."

Before Kiba could continue a guard approached, "Time is up."

Both teens nodded and Kin was lead out of the room. Kiba watched her leave and then walked to his door. Morino Ibiki was waiting on the other side for him.

"Did you get what you wanted out of that, Sir?" Kiba asked in a soft tone.

Ibiki nodded, "You were right. She is salvageable. Good job spotting that when you brought her in the other day. Your last words to her will help. Something positive in her mind."

"What is going to happen to her Sir?

"A bit more de-programming but she did most of the work herself in that case. 'Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned; nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.' Hate is a powerful motivator as long as she does not get too caught up in it she might work out for our side."

Kiba just nodded. He didn't understand what Ibiki had just said but he had done what he could and maybe he could sleep tonight without dreaming of long dark hair.

* * *

Hinata went through the katas of her Flowing Fist variant of Gentle Fist in the repaired training ground. Her motions were fluid but her thoughts were not. The Main Building would be repaired before another week passed but she was pleased with the progress the Clan was making so far. The survivors were showing signs of life again as the wounded were returning from the hospital. The Third War had left a large age gap in the Clan. Neji and Hinata had been among the first children born after that war. With the deaths of so many ninja the makeup of the Clan was greatly altered. Now, nearly one third of all Hyuuga were younger than she was. Barely a dozen were older than her but under adult age. An overwhelming majority of the adults now remaining were either too old or physically unfit for ninja duty.

The message was clear once she thought about it. The power of the Hyuuga was severely diminished until the children could mature. To remain a power in Konoha, the Hyuuga would have to change.

One point going well was that the Clan members seeking instructions were looking directly at her now instead of Grandmother. She was not comfortable with leadership but time and experience would fix that. Father would remain in the hospital until the Main Building was repaired or a medic could heal his side completely. His gesture at the funeral was inspired but really not good for his overall recovery. Her limited medical jutsu had at least kept him from making himself any worse. It would be good when Father got back however. She loved training with her team and as acting leader for the Clan she could not do that.

Hinata stopped to laugh for a moment as she realized her thought. She was actually looking forward to Anko-sensei's workouts. Yup, she was getting as crazy as her mentor. The sound of the gate to the training area snapped her chain of thoughts. She finished off her workout and turned to see what else had come up during the past hour.

* * *

Tsunade gingerly sat in her office chair after another long day of work. The medical corps had been working overtime hours for more than a week now but had something to show for it. A good portion of the wounded had been discharged and the shelter clinic closed down. Only the worst of the original wounded remained in the hospital. She sighed as she knew a majority of those would never leave the hospital under their own power again. The only upside she could find today was no one had died from their wounds. She wanted so badly to crawl into a sake bottle and get plastered but she had a few more duties to go through today.

Naruto was causing problems for everyone as was normal for him. The boy simply had too much energy and his being forced to lie still was the source of all their problems. But, the boy was healing faster than even she dreamed was possible. The major bones in his legs were almost half healed already and the bones in his feet were all being repaired so quickly it seemed like magic. She shuddered at what they might look like if she had not gone with the original suggestion of forcing all the bone fragments into proper placement with chakra. If his healing kept up at this rate, he would be allowed out of bed in two more weeks.

Sakura was her other problem. Her junior apprentice was moody with all the medical work she had been subject to since the Invasion. Maybe a few days out in the training fields would improve the mood of both Master and apprentice. Hitting something was always a good release for tension and depression. She made a note to schedule a morning of physical training for both of them before the week was out.

Tsunade glanced at her window and spoke out, "You know Jiraiya, you might be considered a legendary ninja but either come in or haul your butt away from my window."

The window slid open and the white haired teammate of hers climbed into the office. "How is it no one but you can sense me when I am under that jutsu?" he grumbled.

"Because I know you, you lecher. Plus you have been using it around me for nearly forty years so I am familiar with sensing it. What do you want?"

Jiraiya looked seriously at Tsunade, "I just came from the Daimyo. He has officially stated a preference for the Fifth. He wants one of us to take it and that we should decide it between ourselves."

"Well then, you should look good in that ugly hat, Jiraiya," Tsunade said as she leaned back in her chair.

"I don't want the job, Tsunade," Jiraiya replied. "You have the respect of the ninja in Konoha, I don't. They see me as strong and as the Toad Sage but they also see me as the Great Pervert. They are more familiar with my writing than my abilities as a ninja."

The tone Jiraiya used surprised Tsunade. He had not sounded like that since the day she made jonin and he hadn't. He sounded almost defeated.

Jiraiya continued, "Yes, I am a friend to many daimyos and have a lot of connections through my spy network but people don't look at that. After the Invasion, the ninja saw you standing up to the Sand as a leader. I was passed out and half drowned. You're the granddaughter of the First and practically royalty to this village. I am just some kid who was dead last in the Academy and always playing catch-up to my better teammates."

Tsunade decided she had heard enough. In a soft voice she said, "Jiraiya." When he stopped on his depressing rant she stood up and walked over to him. She lifted his lowered chin and looked deep into his eyes.

Jiraiya never even saw the slap coming.

After pulling himself out of the wall Jiraiya shook his head to clear it some as Tsunade waited with arms crossed under her voluminous breasts. "I hope that fixed your little pity party, Jiraiya. You are a lot more than what you are painting yourself as you goof. Yes, I was better than you as a teenager. Once we got past our teen years, you were the one whose hard work kept you improving. I hate to admit it but overall, you are better than I am. Granted, you could have trouble bandaging a paper cut but in every other area, you have me beaten.

Jiraiya was shocked to hear that admission from Tsunade.

"To top it all off, your teacher was a Hokage. Your student was a Hokage. Your new student will likely be Hokage one day. No one else in this village knows more about being a Hokage right now than you do. Well, outside of sensei's secretary but I don't think she wants the job."

Both Sannin laughed at Tsunade's joke

* * *

"So; this in Konoha? It doesn't look like much at all, Itachi," said the blue skinned Kisame.

"It was at one time, Kisame. Now please keep your sword under control. It keeps sucking in the chakra I am using on our genjutsu." Itachi made a few hand signs and Kisame's skin color seemed to fade to a simple pale. "I need us to look like normal civilians until we capture our prize."

* * *

Next Chapter: A Hokage Rises

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Review Notes:

Yes, the omake bit did use the line from The Incredibles about monologues. That is one thing that always bothered me in Naruto; the long bouts of storytelling during fight scenes.

I would like to thank Tgun and Madamag for their detailed reviews. I appreciate reviews that point out my flaws in a constructive manner. I believe I am lucky that I have only had one flame since I began writing my story. I get more from honest critical reviews than I do from positive ones because I find out weaknesses in my stories. Early reviewers pointed perceived Sasuke flaws straying from canon but I had mapped out his decline early on and have kept him consistent in his slide into madness.

I have spent little time with side characters before the Invasion part of the story mainly because the team had little contact with them. Most will fall into the background again and reappear when needed but I have been trying to show that the whole attack had a wide effect on Konoha and it will continue on even if I am not chronicling it in each chapter.

In an attempt to slow comments on my characterization of Orochimaru I will write out my idea of what he is like in my story. I have him seen in dual fashions.

He attracts those seeking power. His reputation with the criminal elements bring those looking for power to seek him out. The ones who want what he offers and are willing to pay the price to get it. He seeks out clans bypassed or turned down by Villages to add to his Sound and intimidates the ones who don't join willingly.

He has the charisma to lure in the unsuspecting in the same fashion a cult leader does. Once he has snared in the innocent, he bends them to his will in he same fashion that a cult does. Brainwashing, drugs, and deprivation are the least of his crimes there before he moves them into his bases. I have Kin being one in this category. The brainwashing makes 'true believer' fanatics out of the victims who in turn lure in more to continue the process. I had Charles Manson in mind when I added this idea to his character.

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Parting Shot:

The size of Konoha's ninja forces are a very debatable number. Canon has it as being 'in the thousands' when it describes the Kages. Named individuals and such only account for under 100 but you see nameless chunin and ANBU liberally strewn about in the manga and anime as bodies. It is hard to convince people that there has to be more than 9 genin coming out of the Academy to replace those losses. Most also seem to take what Kakashi said about a 66 percent failure rate as being absolute and not some sort of mind game.

My view in this is that the main characters and teams are all part of the same platoon in military terms. A military platoon has roughly 30 to 50 soldiers and contains several individual squads. The canon facts about the named characters fit this definition easily. Using that definition, you will not have much interaction between the 'named' characters and other outside their platoon as this does not normally happen on a day to day basis in the military.

My own story estimates would put post-Invasion Konoha entire active military forces at roughly one thousand to eleven hundred. This is down from my idea of them having more or less fifteen hundred at the story beginning. Reserves and retired ninja adding another on thousand giving a completely mobilized Konoha as having about a brigade sized formation in war.


	27. A Hokage Rises

I know it has been a month since I updated. Work comes before life and the recent economy means I kept my job but I lost my part time help so I have less time to goof and write. But I hope the story is worth the wait.

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A Hokage Rises

Kakashi rubbed his visible eye and looked over the mission requests that still came into Konoha. The bureaucracy in place at least had the knowledge to sort them by category. Nothing outside of the Fire Country was being accepted at the moment. Nothing higher than a B rank mission was being performed either. At least he did not have to assign the D rank missions. He would put out his good eye if that became necessary to avoid that headache. Even training Sasuke was better than that.

At least he was able to get out of consideration for the Hokage position. He shuddered to think what he would be like as a Hokage. A mental image of himself surrounded by stacks of reports that never got smaller while being unable to take time to read his books made the former ANBU captain pause and shiver. No, it was best he stay as far from the Hokage chair as possible.

He heard a noise at the door and saw Ibiki standing there. "The guards at the South Gate have not checked in on schedule. I sent a runner there already but it might be something else. Kotetsu and Izumo are normally good at their job if not a little boring."

"Why don't I go have a look around," Kakashi offered. "I need to move around some after looking at these mission requests all morning. I was never built for desk work."

Ibiki coughed lightly on the dust Kakashi raised as the masked ninja sped out of the building. He shook his head and chuckled. "Well, he is better in the field. Maybe he could get one of the new genin that signed on to replace that Uchiha. I wish old Sarutobi had taken my advice and just killed him a few weeks ago."

* * *

Itachi and Kisame made their way to Konoha's hospital at a leisurely pace. Both walked with a minor arrogance at passing undetected through hundreds of ninja. Itachi's genjutsu made anyone looking in their direction see nothing. Anyone who saw past the first saw a second layer that they were just manual laborers. Kisame's massive sword was given the appearance of a large wooden plank.

No one challenged their entry into the hospital. Itachi spoke to one nurse asking where Naruto's room was and thanked her before making the woman forget he had even been there.

The pair stepped out onto Naruto's floor and stepped to the nurse's station. The desk nurse looked up to see the red eyes of Itachi as she fell under his illusions.

"Call all the staff on this floor over here. I wish to speak with them."

Itachi worked quickly. Each staff member was placed under his illusions quickly and without fuss. Kisame chuckled at how easily the people fell under his partner's spell. Since no one had been expecting any trouble this deep inside the village, no one was mentally prepared.

Naruto was sleeping when Itachi entered his room. The Uchiha applied a jutsu to the blonde boy to keep him sleeping as Kisame lifted the boy over his shoulder. The pair walked out of the hospital without being challenged as the secondary illusion made Naruto look like a sack of supplies.

"Can I cut off his legs, Itachi? These casts on the brat are bumping my back and annoying me."

"No, Kisame. In his current condition, he would bleed to death long before we could get him back to Pein-sama."

Kisame just grumbled as the pair soon walked out the same gate they had entered.

* * *

Kakashi strolled up to the gate where Kotetsu and Izumo were standing guard. Both chunin greeted him with smiles.

"Good morning, Kakashi-senpai," Izumo greeted him.

"Ibiki-san said you two did not check in schedule," Kakashi asked in his normal lazy tone.

Kotetsu glanced at the wrong part of the sky. "But it is not yet halfway to noon, Kakashi-senpai. The day has been dreadfully slow. No one has even come through the gate today."

Kakashi immediately came to alert. He could see multiple footprints in the dirt entering the gate. He pointed, "Then who made those fresh footprints coming and going through your gate?"

Both Izumo and Kotetsu looked at the ground and saw nothing. "I see no footprints, Kakashi-senpai," Kotetsu told him.

Kakashi held up his hand in a sign and focused before touching each man, sending out a small bit of chakra, "Release."

Both chunin slumped for a moment before blinking quickly and looking around, "What? Those men!" Izumo nearly shouted out. "Kakashi-senpai, two men in black robes with red clouds on them were just here. I remember looking at them then nothing and you were here."

"Genjutsu. Did one have red eyes?" Kakashi said in a tone few heard out of him.

"Yes, the shorter one. He looked almost like an Uchiha,"

"Send back an alert! Uchiha Itachi is in the village!" Kakashi yelled as he ran off.

Kakashi ran towards the hospital. If it was Itachi, he would be after Naruto. 'Of course those two back there got lucky. If they wanted to get in and out with a minimum of fuss, killing them would have made too much of a hassle. A genjutsu by Itachi would keep them quiet and prevent any alarm.

The silver haired jonin ran up to the hospital and up the stairs to the floor Naruto was staying in. The staff all looked up and smiled at him before returning to their work. Kakashi hurried down to Naruto's room and flung open the door to see a blonde haired boy with casts on both legs lying there.

The jonin was confused for a moment before walking up to the boy and reaching a hand out and touching him. The solid feel of flesh under his hand was unmistakable. Something was not right here. Kakashi made the same hand seals as earlier at the gate and muttered, "Release."

The blonde hair faded to gray and the face of the boy was replaced by that of an elderly man. The casts faded from view as well. Kakashi growled as he turned and walked up to the nurse's station. "When were those men in the cloaks here?"

The duty nurse looked up puzzled, "There have been no visitors yet, Kakashi-sama. What is wrong?"

"Naruto is missing!"

The nurse got up and ran over to the patient's room and looked in. "No, he's right there!"

Kakashi flew through hand signs again and touched the nurse, "Release." He caught the nurse as she slumped over. She managed to get back up to her own feet after a few seconds and looked into the room again, "Why is the old carpenter in Naruto's bed? What's going on here, Kakashi?"

"Call an ANBU. Tell them that everyone on this floor of the hospital has been put under a genjutsu," Kakashi yelled as he ran for the stairs.

Kakashi got to Tsunade's office but the room was empty. A note on the door simply read 'Out Training'. The jonin sighed and made a single hand seal muttering "Shadow Clones". Three copies of Kakashi appeared and he just pointed at each in turn saying, "Tsunade, Jiraiya, Ibiki". Then he turned and ran outside.

Once he was in the open he again cast a jutsu to summon his favorite tracker, Pakkun.

The pug appeared from the small cloud of chakra smoke saying, "Yo" with his distinctive deep voice.

"Pakkun, Naruto has been kidnapped. We need to find him."

Pakkun nodded with a mild grunt and set to work sniffing the area around the door. "Got it" he said moments later. "He is being carried so it will not be the easiest track with this breeze. His scent seems to be mixed with someone that smells like bait."

'Hoshigaki Kisame.' "I understand, Pakkun. If you lose Naruto, keep with that one."

The pug nodded and ran off with Kakashi following behind.

* * *

Tsunade was in a gym having a grand time hurling racquetballs at Sakura. She was not going all out just yet but the smile on her face showed that she was enjoying herself. For her part, Sakura was already getting winded but her similar smile showed she too was having some fun.

The pink haired girl had been glad to be out of the hospital even for a little while. The place was just too depressing for her lately. All the ninja who were going to recover completely had already been discharged and the ones remaining were all crippled in some fashion or another. Even this training was a welcome diversion from dealing with those patients.

Sakura was tracking several different balls at once because the rebounds were just as dangerous to her as a direct hit. She learned early on that if she just dodged Tsunade would miss on purpose to nail her from behind with a double bank shot off the walls. 'Finally, that lop sided one took a bad bounce and lost a lot of momentum,' she thought as she leaped to grab the much slower ball out of the air and with a loud grunt of effort hurled it at Tsunade before a second could nail her in the back. Tsunade had to fall flat on the floor to get out of the way of the ball but came up laughing.

"Nice job with that one, Sakura. I knew that bad ball would mess up at some point but even better is that you managed to capture it and use it against me. Well Done."

Sakura blushed at the compliment and prepared to dodge again when Kakashi entered the gym at a run.

"Tsunade-sama! Naruto has been kidnapped from the hospital!"

"WHAT! Who did it?" Tsunade demanded.

"Akatsuki. The use of genjutsu indicates Itachi," Kakashi reported. "I am a shadow clone sent to warn you while my true self begins pursuit. Other clones are informing Jiraiya and Ibiki."

Tsunade nodded and looked to Sakura, "Training is cancelled for today. Go find Anko and get her to follow after. We will leave signs. Go."

Tsunade ran out of the gym behind the Kakashi clone.

* * *

Jiraiya was glad to be away from responsibility for a few hours. He had taken a few hours to himself for the first time in weeks. He needed to do his 'research'. His publisher was already making noises about the next novel in the Icha Icha series was going to be late if the author did not produce something quickly. He leaned back to his telescope when running feet sounded on the path to his viewing station.

"Jiraiya-sama," the voice of Kakashi sounded out. "Naruto has been kidnapped. Akatsuki seems to be behind it."

"Damn," muttered Jiraiya. "Which way did they go?"

"They left via the South Gate. Itachi is one."

Jiraiya nodded and bit his thumb. He wiped blood on his hand and went through the hand signs for summoning his toads. A man sized toad appeared with dozens of smaller finger sized toads clinging to its back. Jiraiya did not even waste time as he spoke in a commanding voice to the large toad. "Gamasekkou, my student has been kidnapped. I need you to drop off scout toads south of Konoha in groups starting at five miles out. I am assuming they are walking because running this close to Konoha would have attracted attention. Look for two adults carrying a boy with broken legs. He is Minato's spawnling so this is important."

"Yes, Jiraiya-sama," cried out Gamasekkou without question. He would have liked to tease the Sage but this was too important. Perhaps, next time.

The toad moved as fast as Gai without weights through the trees. Once he reached his first drop off point he spoke to the toads clinging to him, "Spread out. Do not interfere, just find them and report back. I am moving up several miles to drop off more."

Jiraiya grumbled as he left his telescope behind. 'That is a brand new scope. No one had better mess with it. I have to get the boy on the Toad Contract soon. They could track him and reverse summon him away from his captors if he was.'

* * *

Itachi walked calmly down the road while Kisame groused next to him. "I don't see why we are just walking along the road like we do not have a care in the world, Itachi. We could have already handed him off to Zetsu by now."

"First, if we ran it would attract attention. My genjutsu can make the patrols overlook us if we walk. Also, Konoha has a detection grid extending out almost 10 miles from the village. They would detect anything moving through the ground out to that distance. Zetsu would be noticed and give them enough knowledge to duplicate his jutsu," Itachi calmly replied.

"I still say we should just bust heads and make them fear us. No one there can match us."

"Actually, with a full effort, there are three currently in Konoha who could defeat us individually. That is why we did not merely demand the jinchuuriki."

"They couldn't defeat Samehada. It would suck them dry."

"Kisame, enough hyenas can down a lion. But perhaps you will get your fight soon enough. We have been detected."

Kisame looked around. "I don't sense anyone nearby."

"Jiraiya's toads are in the trees and I felt at least two dispel to report our position."

Kisame smirked, "Good, Samehada is hungry."

* * *

Pakkun led Kakashi down a little used path through the forest around Konoha. "The scent is getting stronger, Kakashi. It shouldn't be long now."

"Good job Pakkun," Kakashi responded. "Make sure you avoid trouble when we get there. These people are dangerous,"

Kakashi felt his shadow clones dispel and knew help was only minutes behind him.

"We are almost on top of them now, Kakashi. There is a clearing ahead," Pakkun told his master. The pug leapt into a tree and stopped on a branch without entering the clearing while Kakashi did the same. In the clearing stood Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. A still Naruto lay bent over the shoulder of the larger Kisame.

"Hatake Kakashi, former ANBU captain, currently a jonin sensei and interim director of ANBU," recited Itachi in a quiet voice.

"You are well informed for a missing nin, Itachi," Kakashi replied. "Just leave the boy and depart and there will be no pursuit."

"You bargain from a position of weakness, Kakashi."

"I alerted others before I followed you, Itachi. The genjutsu was found and there will be a force coming after you soon. Again, leave the boy and you can avoid pursuit."

"Enough talk. I am gonna break you in half, Kakashi," roared Kisame. The large man nudged Naruto off his shoulder and the blonde boy fell to the ground with a dull thud. The blue skinned man rushed toward the tree Kakashi was in as he drew his massive zanbato, Samehada. The sword looked like it was made from shark's teeth.

Kisame swung at the branch and the sword tore chunks of bark as the teeth gouged the wood. Kakashi was already leaping over Kisame and pulling up his headband to reveal his implanted Sharingan eye.

Kisame turned and swung his sword once more. Kakashi was forced to leap away once more. "Don't tell me the man who beat Momochi Zabuza is afraid of little old me?" Kisame taunted.

"Oh, I'm not afraid of you, Kisame. But I do respect what your sword can do. Without it, you are not much of a threat," Kakashi replied in his normal lazy fashion. One of his clones had dispersed already, letting him know that at least one of the Sannin was still five minutes away. Five minutes was a long time in ninja battles.

* * *

Jiraiya was through the South Gate and moving at top speed when the first toad reported by dispersing itself. The one that remained with him whispered in his ear direction and distance. 'Damn, they were nearly to the edge of the detection area. Once beyond that, there is no way to track them without visual observation of some kind. Itachi is just too good to leave traces behind.'

Jiraiya noted a patrol in the forest nearby so he flared his chakra to get their attention. He never missed a step as he glanced toward them. 'Chunin only, they won't be a help.' Using hand signals he told them to spread an alert that enemy S class ninja were in the local area. Any ANBU patrols should get word quickly. The patrol leader acknowledged and the patrol dispersed.

Focusing back on the trail ahead, Jiraiya felt Tsunade and several others leaving the village in his wake. At his current speed, he was three minutes from the spot the toads had indicated.

* * *

Itachi stood next to the slumbering Naruto as he watched Kisame chase Kakashi around the clearing. The missing nin knew that the Leaf ninja was only playing for time but the situation was still under control. He would allow Kisame to play a little while longer.

"Hold still and fight you one eyed jackrabbit," shouted Kisame. The massive missing nin from Mist was beginning to lose his temper. He had not even come close to hitting Kakashi yet. Simple swordwork was not going to win this battle.

Kisame brought his hands together and shouted, "Exploding Water Shockwave" with water beginning to spew from his mouth in torrents. It formed a wave that rushed towards Kakashi. The copy ninja leapt back from the wave and into the branches to the surrounding trees as water flooded the local area. Itachi had picked up Naruto and done the same.

Kisame laughed as he stood on the mass of water. Now he was in his element once more. He made the signs and began firing water bullets at Kakashi. The need to dodge tree limbs as he evaded the water bullets gave Kakashi no room for error. Kisame laughed again as he bracketed Kakashi and saw one of his shots hit the man squarely. The bullet impacted on a tree and a limp Kakashi fell down. Kisame grinned like the shark he resembled until the fallen Kakashi transformed into a broken branch.

'Substitution! Dammit!' Kisame thought as he looked around. While he looked around, a water dragon rose up from his lake and came directly at him. Leaping backwards, Kisame made a sign, "Water Wall" A wall of water rose up and intercepted the dragon. Water sprayed in all directions at the jutsu cancelled each other.

"Very tricky, Kakashi. But water is MY element," Kisame bragged.

A voice boomed from off to the side, "Perhaps, Kisame but things can always change quickly. Yomi Numa, Swamp of the Underworld!"

All three ninja looked to see Jiraiya had arrived as the water drained down and vanished into a dark mass of a swamp.

Kakashi leaped over to the Sannin. "Good timing Jiraiya-sama," he said.

Kisame looked angry as his water was drained off and ended up standing on the surface of the swamp without sinking into it. "You took my water!" he shouted as he pointed at Jiraiya. He tried to form a water bullet but the muck only released a few drops of water. 'Danged Earth technique.'

'He is too powerful for the swamp to pull down but it also will draw in any water he summons. Best to leave it for now.' thought Jiraiya. "Kakashi, see if you can get Naruto away from Itachi. I'll handle this fish out of water."

Kakashi nodded and jumped at the renegade Uchiha. His Sharingan eye whirled at he focused his one on his opponent's two.

"Do you honestly think you can best me with something that fights your very use of it, Kakashi? You have done well with Obito's eye but now you face someone who is a master. Tsukuyomi."

Kakashi could not halt his leap in midair and could only try to resist the sudden genjutsu attack. For a heart beat he resisted then he was overwhelmed.

* * *

Kakashi found himself tied to an operating table. He struggled to free himself but found he could not. A ghostly voice from Itachi sounded and echoed in his ears, "I control this realm. For the next 72 hours, you will experience what I wish you to experience."

Bodies rose up on either side of Kakashi. The dead and decayed forms of Rin, Uchiha Obito, the Fourth Hokage and his father all stood around the table.

Obito's empty eye socket dripped worms as he spoke, "You're unworthy of my sacrifice, Kakashi. I want my eye back."

Rin reached out with her Mystic Palm technique to cut open Kakashi's face and yanked out the Sharingan eye whispering, "Unworthy." before handing the eye to Obito.

His father, Hatake Sakumo pulled out his prized sword and cut into Kakashi's belly seppuku style, "Unworthy of being my son and my sacrifice." The pain from the cut was pure agony.

The Fourth formed a Rasengan in his hand and pressed it into Kakashi's chest "Unworthy of being my student." The feeling of his chest being shredded was worse than his stomach.

But worse than the physical pain was the mental anguish of the ones he had cared for most in his life being the means of his own torture.

Kakashi closed his eyes and was letting the darkness take him when the scene reset back to the beginning.

"71 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds to go," Itachi's voice echoed in his ears.

* * *

In reality, Kakashi let out a yell of agony and loss before falling toward the swamp. A kunai thrown by Jiraiya caught his flak jacket and prevented his limp form from landing in the muck by catching a branch.

Itachi looked over at Kisame who was using his sword to bat away earth bullets fired by Jiraiya. "Kisame, we are leaving." Itachi started to bend over to pick up Naruto when the tree shattered underneath him.

Tsunade had arrived.

Itachi managed to jump away from the debris but Naruto fell into the swamp muck. The unconscious blonde began to sink into the slime and goo. Jiraiya was too involved in defending against Kisame to do anything so Tsunade ran to the boy to fish him out of the swamp.

The moment she touched Naruto, a trap laid by Itachi was triggered. The genjutsu flared around her as she was unprepared. Her greatest fear surrounded her. Instead of being in a swamp made of water, she was in a swamp made of blood. She had made great strides in overcoming her fear but this was simply too much at once. Tsunade screamed in horror as she tried to brush the blood away but her terror increased as it only smeared. The wetness of it was against her skin and that reinforced the belief that it was real. Tsunade lost all coherent thought and began to sink into the muck as well.

Kisame laughed as Jiraiya was distracted by Tsunade's scream. "Aw, guess she fell into Itachi's little trap. I wonder what she is so afraid of?" he taunted. With a growl of rage, Jiraiya cancelled his Swamp of the Underworld technique. The swamp vanished and both unmoving blondes were lying on the forest floor once more.

Kisame took advantage of Jiraiya's need to cancel the swamp to spew out additional water before running after Itachi "You are lucky I have to leave, old man."

Jiraiya ran over to the blondes and took hold of Tsunade while forcing some chakra into her to disrupt the genjutsu trap. "Tsunade! It was just an illusion. Snap out of it."

Tsunade shuddered as she looked around at the returned forest. Tears fell from her eyes after the stress from seeing all that blood. "I thought I was getting better. But … I couldn't … there was so much of it."

"Shhhh. Don't worry, hime," Jiraiya said as he held his teammate. He said nothing else as the woman he held cried.

Jiraiya saw a squad of ANBU arrive and used hand signals to tell them to pursue to the border but not to engage the fleeing enemy. The squad departed without having spoken a word.

* * *

Back in Konoha, Kurenai had been alerted by Ibiki due to the large number of genjutsu victims at the hospital. She was the most accomplished in the village in that art outside of ANBU and they were already busy. Shino and Sasuke both looked up from their tasks as she indicated they were to follow her.

"What's going on that is so important to disrupt my training?" Sasuke groused.

"There is much more going on in Konoha than your training, Sasuke," Shino replied to him.

"Hn. There is little more important than that. I need to get stronger."

Shino only shook his head in mild disgust at the hubris this Uchiha had and made the rest of the trip to the hospital in silence.

Kurenai moved quickly among the staff dispelling the genjutsu. Few had coherent memories of who did this until one of the older nurses murmured, "It was an Uchiha. Those eyes; I could never mistake those eyes."

Sasuke overheard that and got angry, 'Itachi was here and no one told me! I could have fought him and gotten my vengeance.' Sasuke turned and began to run off when Kurenai's voice yelled out after him.

"Where the hell are you running off to, Genin?" she said in a loud angry voice. "No one said for you to leave."

Sasuke pointed at the older nurse, "She said it was an Uchiha that did this. That means Itachi was here. I have to get him for what he did to my family."

Kurenai just looked at Sasuke for a moment before she said in a lower tone, "Are you so stupid and arrogant to think that you could defeat your older brother? He was ANBU level when he left here and he was not even an adult. Now he is at his full growth and even stronger than he was then. You on the other hand are barely a teenager and still a genin. Hell, you just got owned a few weeks back by Uzumaki because of your arrogance."

"HE DID NOT DEFEAT ME!" Sasuke yelled back. "He got in a few lucky shots! He played tricks and games and never fought me seriously once!"

Kurenai walked up to Sasuke who backed up from her anger. Once he had backed into a wall she got right up in his face.

"Seriously? Being a ninja is not about fighting seriously. You want that kind of fighting; go join the Daimyo's samurai. Think about this Uchiha Sasuke. If Uzumaki had tried to kill you, you would have been dead after that fight. You spent way too much time posing from your fireball, he could have been behind you stabbing you in the back instead of playing with a marshmallow; you're Dead."

"His paint bomb could have been acid or a real explosive; you're Dead."

"He used an unknown jutsu that you copied when he could have used one that surpassed your chakra reserves and exhausted you; you're Dead."

"He laid you out with a sucker punch on the same flawed attack you used against him back in your Genin Exam then he backed off instead of cutting your throat, you're Dead."

"The entire time he fought you he never once fought you seriously because he knew your weakness going in and he had you beaten before Hayate even said start."

Sasuke stood in shock as Kurenai told him off. The thoughts of what Naruto could have done were echoing in his head.

"Now think about this. Uzumaki is a GENIN like you. If he could do that to you, now think how much of a challenge you would be to an ANBU who could kill a clan of Uchiha. Alone. In a single evening."

With reality slapping him in the face, Sasuke realized, "I wouldn't be."

"That's right, you wouldn't be. You are so damn obsessed with POWER you neglect everything that does not give you more of it. You frown on learning how to properly USE that power you are so driven to get but Itachi didn't. He moved up in ranks in Konoha. We have tougher standards for advancement than any other village. That means to make ANBU you HAVE to be an elite in ability not in power."

"If raw power was the only qualification, Uzumaki could be a Hokage right now but he lacks the ability to properly use all of that power he has. Those shadow clones of his could kill a normal jonin with chakra exhaustion after a dozen clones but he tosses around dozens at a time. That fight of his during the Invasion, he made over one thousand."

"Now your brother is skilled enough to WALK into this hospital past ANBU patrols and walk out again with Uzumaki under his arm. Think about that little bit of information, Genin."

"MY NAME IS UCHIHA SASUKE, NOT GENIN!" Sasuke roared.

"Well, until you learn that your head is more than a place to store your headband, Genin is all you will ever be." Kurenai then turned and went back to removing the genjutsu from the remaining hospital staff.

Sasuke stood against the wall and trembled as he slipped a bit further from sanity. All that got into his head is that his brother was even more powerful than he thought and he was falling behind even further. 'I need more power,' was his final thought before he followed Kurenai.

* * *

Tsunade looked over at Jiraiya one last time. She knew that this might not be the best decision that was ever made but at this point in time it was the right one. She had a major weakness exposed to herself and the village as a whole. She was getting past it but right now the village had to come first.

Once more she heard the white haired man curse under his breath as he walked into a chair. Tsunade smiled softly at his nervousness but also in memory at how far the man had come. A knock on the office door pulled her from her thoughts. She opened the door and the messenger said, "It's time."

Minutes later, the crowd roared in approval as the person in the Hokage robes stepped out onto the balcony to wave to them.

Tsunade cried out, "May I present to you all, the Godaime Hokage; Jiraiya, the Toad Sage. May he defend us for years to come."

Jiraiya was about to step forward to speak but Tsunade felt he needed one last taunt before things got to his head. She whispered to him, "Screw this place up and I'll summon back Grandpa and Uncle myself to kick your butt."

Jiraiya roared with laughter as he stepped to the railing.

* * *

Next Chapter: Long Awaited Revelations

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* * *

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Review Notes

: I know my usage of the –kun and –chan is not entirely correct. I think like the American I am. My usage favors it at more intimate moments rather than at all the points someone who uses the suffixes in their normal speech. I do hope it does not detract from the story itself.

To AznPuffyHair, mental conditioning and hypnosis are two entirely different things. Cults are mainly known for mental conditioning but it exists in all parts of society. Hypnosis only creates a temporary mental state. Conditioning alters the way a person thinks long term.

To jgkitarel, I see Konoha a mainly a military base, not as a town that has some ninja in it. The majority of civilians there are generally retired ninja and family/clan members. The ones who do not fall into that category are the ones that provide the services a ninja would need, such as Teuchi and Ayame owning a ramen stand ninja eat at. That makes a much higher percentage of people being ninja but it also means that Konoha is not self sufficient. This could haunt them one day. (idly whistles and looks around)


	28. Long Awaited Revelations

**Long Awaited Revelations**

Naruto was almost bouncing in his bed. Today he would be getting the casts off his legs. He could hardly wait to get moving again. He tried not to dwell on the fact that he had nearly been taken away the previous week and slept through the whole incident. At least his teachers had managed to save him.

His teachers. Naruto shook his head and tried to wrap his brain around Jiraiya-sensei of all people being Hokage. But looking at it another way, Jiraiya-sensei HAD scared off two S-class missing nins with only a small fight. He could still hear the nurses talking about how Uchiha Itachi had just walked into the hospital and walked out with Naruto. Someone that powerful was scared of his teacher. Now the man was Hokage.

Naruto smiled as Tsunade, Shizune and Sakura entered the room. "Well gaki, all set to get those things off your legs?" Tsunade asked him.

"You bet. I can't wait to get out of here and go to Ichiraku's and all the ramen I can eat," Naruto replied with a grin.

"Unless you stop bouncing Naruto, I am not going to be able to take those casts off," Shizune chided the boy. Naruto tried to sit still as Shizune quickly did the work.

Once his legs were free and Tsunade had run one last scan with her Mystic Palm jutsu, Naruto pulled his knees up to his chest and started scratching his ankles vigorously. His moans of relief brought chuckles to both Tsunade and Shizune but Sakura just made a face and said "Gross" at the sight of the built up dead skin cells flaking off Naruto's legs.

Tsunade looked sternly at Naruto, "Now, just because you are free from those casts doesn't mean you are out of here yet. You will be in here for at least a couple more days to make sure there is not any permanent damage."

Naruto was not listening to Tsunade as he felt an urge. "Bathroom," he said as he wanted to not use any more bedpans. Before any of the women could stop him, he swung his legs off the bed and hopped to his feet. At least he tried to. Before he could take a step, his legs gave out and he crashed to the floor.

"Why is the floor so hard today?" Naruto muttered while rubbing his head.

The three medics all looked at Naruto with varying degrees of annoyance.

"Baka!" Sakura yelled at him. "You need to get used to using your legs again. It might only be a month but you had a major trauma and your legs are nowhere near recovered."

Shizune and Sakura took hold of his arms and hoisted the blonde back to his feet and held him until he could balance himself. Then with the grace of a toddler, he made his way into the adjoining bathroom..

Tsunade looked at the clock and wondered if it was too early for sake.

* * *

Jiraiya glared at the stacks of paperwork waiting in his office. It was like the piles increased each time he blinked. This was beyond out of hand. He could deal with mission reports and debriefs when needed, but why the heck were requisitions for toilet paper on a building that no longer existed waiting on his desk. 'Sensei had to be the most anal-retentive control freak in the history of ninja,' Jiraiya thought darkly. 'Two thirds of this crap does not need the attention of a Hokage, only a stamp by a simple functionary to get it done.'

'I'll need a good assistant to help me sort through all of this to find the important items.' Jiraiya sighed and made the seal to create a shadow clone. The clone immediately helped him sort the numerous folders into new piles. By the time he was done, he found a disturbing pattern. More than half of the items in his office were just reports of completing D-ranked missions. Another quarter of the files were supply requests just like the one that had set him off. Several important files had been hidden amid the mass of paper; intelligence reports, staffing reports and high level mission requests.

Taking only the smallest pile of items that actually needed his attention, he set to work. Ibiki's report on the prisoners was interesting. Of all the captured genin, twenty three were favorable to keep on as genin of Konoha with small amounts of retraining. The rest were handed over to the Daimyo as criminals. No chunin or jonin level ninja captured would serve Konoha and Jiraiya was not sure he would take them anyhow. The listing of bounties and rewards offered for a large portion of them was enough to cover nearly a third of the repair costs to Konoha. It was just a matter of collecting that money. Village finances were going to be tight for months to come and he made a few notes to get those captured turned over quickly.

The report on overall damage to Konoha was also in his pile of reports. Several options were outlined in it and he agreed with a few. The idea of condemning the destroyed Uchiha district and it becoming property of Konoha by eminent domain; approved. Constructing a new gate in the wall breech; approved. He did not like the Uchiha boy but he deleted the idea of paying below market price for the Uchiha lands. Full market value would be given to the boy along with keeping enough property intact for a small compound centered on the Uchiha shrine and main clan vaults. One boy did not need enough land to accommodate the hundreds of people a major clan could accumulate. Even the retained compound would be large enough to prevent over crowding for several generations of new Uchiha.

Hours passed as Jiraiya put the affairs of running Konoha in order. He pulled out one last report to go over before heading home for the evening; the Chunin Exams recommendations. He chuckled that even in the middle of a fight; most of the judges had made recommendations on what they had seen. The judges recommended only two for immediate promotion, Nara Shikamaru and Aburame Shino. He glanced further down the report for Naruto's name but found it marked as 'Denied, with cause'. Jiraiya growled to himself as he closed the folder to save for the morning. He needed to have a small discussion with the elders who made up the committee.

* * *

Anko stood looking at the pair of Sand genin. Temari and Kankuro were wearing their own clothes instead of those horrid pink jumpsuits.

"It has been decided that the pair of you will be exchanged for some prisoners your village took in the beginning of the Invasion. It seems your village was only willing to do a one for one prisoner exchange with the standard cash ransom payments for each ninja after that. Your brother threatened the entire elder council of your village to get the pair of you back, no matter the possible financial benefit to your village. The pair of you are going home tomorrow. Your weapons will be returned to you at the border."

"Why would Gaara tell them to get us back? He never would do something like that," Temari mused out loud.

Anko shrugged, "You'll have to ask him that when you see him again." Then Anko turned and left the room.

She headed back to the main holding area with folder in hand, "Tsuchi Kin and Fuma Sasame, sound off!" she called out. Two voices replied "Here." Anko gestured to the matron who let the pair of girls out of the cells they were in. "Come with me," Anko instructed both girls.

Once in a room, Anko gestured to the pair of girls to sit. She stood opposite them and glared at both.

"Tsuchi Kin, you were a registered genin of the Sound village and no longer wish to be associated with that hellhole, is this correct?" the dark haired girl nodded in silence.

"Fuma Sasame, you were pressed into service of the Sound along with a majority of your clan. You have stated that you did not wish to have anything to do with the Sound village, is that correct?" The orange haired girl also nodded and stammered out a quiet "Yes."

Anko nodded. "Well, you both have a choice to make. The new Hokage and the Daimyo have come to an agreement. Since neither of you hurt any civilians in the recent invasion and in depth interrogation has confirmed your desire to have noting further to do with the Sound village, I am authorized to make you both an offer. You may become genin of Konoha. If you do not wish to accept the offer, you will be turned over to the Daimyo to be incarcerated for a period of not more than one year."

Kin was shocked. "But, I was helping to hurt and kill people in the Chunin Exams."

Anko nodded, "I know that. However, you were doing so in an authorized manner. That is a military issue and it will not win you many friends among the genin here. The important point is that you were also victims of Orochimaru, just like all the civilians killed. You are not accountable for the actions that Orochimaru ordered but in turn you did not commit the acts he wanted. The Daimyo would have you imprisoned for lesser charges than those who hurt civilians. A lot nicer place as well. Once your time is served in a prison, you would be free to go."

Sasame looked up, "We could become ninja here? Would we have to fight against the Sound?"

Anko smirked, "Nothing is certain but this is not a war; at least not in the near future. You would not have to fight against Sound ninja unless you came across them on a mission and they attacked you. Genin teams rarely get missions where they would get into combat with other ninja outside of a war."

Sasame nodded, "Some of my relatives still support Orochimaru even after he killed most of the clan, and I don't want to have to fight against them."

"Understandable," Anko replied. "I will not guarantee it won't but it still might happen that you run into them at some point in the future. We would hope you make the best choice possible then."

"We were His," Kin whispered. "We belonged to him. How can you people forgive us of that?"

Anko stared at Kin for a minute. "It will not be easy, and some will not forgive you, Kin. But if you give it time, you will find that many people here will accept you. As I said, we do not blame the victim for the crimes of the criminal." Anko pulled aside the chain mail covering her neck to show her curse mark. "I was his victim once as well. It was not easy and some still get on my case about it. But my life here is a lot better than it would have been if I had stayed with him."

Kin's eyes went wide, "A Curse Mark!"

Anko smirked to hide her anxiety. "It doesn't work, Kin. I was the very first person he tested one on. He almost killed me with his experiments. I was betrayed like you were. I know asking you both to switch sides is a hard choice but as I said, you have options."

Kin looked back to Anko's face, "Would I get to help stop his plans?"

"Eventually, or your working with us would free up someone else who would."

Anko let the girls think for a few more minutes before speaking again. "I know this is a hard decision but I will need an answer. No answer is the same as making the choice to go to prison."

Sasame bit her lip before nodding her head. "I'll join. To have a chance at a place to call home again and not have to live as a criminal forever."

Kin nodded as well. "I want to hurt him, even if it is just helping in some small way. I'll join as well."

Anko grinned, "Good choice. We already figured you both would take the offer." Anko went to a phone on the wall and dialed a number. "Genma, get your mangy butt in here. Your genin are waiting for you."

Within a minute, the door opened. A plain faced jonin with a senbon in his mouth entered followed by a teen with long dark hair. "Good afternoon, ladies. I'm Shiranui Genma. This is Haku. Welcome to Team Senbon."

* * *

The judges from the Chunin Exam withered under the glare of Jiraiya. "But, Hokage-sama, the recommendations from the Chunin Exams were already passed to the Daimyo and he signed off on them. There is nothing else we can do to change that."

Jiraiya growled before speaking, "You do realize that your recommendations only apply to the Exams themselves, not to any genin in Konoha. I can still promote any genin to chunin if their skills warrant. Most ninja who reach the rank of chunin do so outside of the Exams."

One judge nodded, "Yes, Hokage-sama. We understand that. But the original recommendation of this panel was that Uzumaki Naruto should be promoted to chunin. He showed great skill and composure in the face of a legendary dojutsu, nearly defeating it. The Sandaime's teammates changed the final recommendation on him."

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was having another bad day. This time he was sent to gate guard duty. This time he was assigned to a pair of chunin he did not even know. They seemed to get along well with the routine traffic but were also quite alert for anyone they did not know. Sasuke mainly sat in the guardhouse and sulked. This was such a waste of his talents. He could be training and getting stronger but instead they had him getting weaker with these tasks that menials should be assigned.

Izumo called Sasuke out of the guardhouse while he dealt with paperwork on a large wagon of building supplies. Sasuke was told to clear the foot traffic. Several construction workers all had their passes ready but one man made a comment to Sasuke.

"Oh, aren't you the boy from the Chunin Exams? You looked good in them pigtails and boobs." The man and a few of his friends all laughed.

Sasuke went red with anger and his eyes narrowed at the laughing man. His Sharingan eyes activated and he backhanded the man who made the comment to the ground. His other hand pulled out a kunai and he was about to stab the man when both Kotetsu and Izumo tackled him to the ground.

The pair told Sasuke to get back to the dorms and that he was going on report for his actions. Sasuke left without another word.

* * *

Hinata and Sakura waved goodbye to Ayame and carried the take out toward the hospital. Hinata was sure that Naruto would enjoy ramen after having mainly hospital food. His watchslug would not let him leave the room after Tsunade caught him trying to sneak out of the hospital once since having his casts removed. Once the pair arrived at the door to Naruto's room, they heard shouting.

"Oh please, I'm begging you, I need to get out of here!"

A strange voice responded, "Once Tsunade-sama has informed me that you are allowed to leave, I will let you pass; not before."

The girls opened the door to see Naruto standing near the window arguing with a slug. That would have been fine except for one small problem. His patient smock had an opening in the back and Naruto had on no underwear. Sakura's eyebrow twitched as both girls saw Naruto's butt in its full glory as he moved side to side trying to get past the slug. Sakura gently reached over and took the ramen from Hinata just as the heiress passed out with a smile and a severe blush on her face.

The slight noise of Hinata passing out made Naruto spin around to see his teammates. "I think Hinata likes your butt, Naruto," said Sakura with a smirk. Naruto paled for a moment before turning as red as Hinata while pulling the gown closed behind him. He slunk into the bed and pulled the blankets up to his neck

"Heh, sorry. All those weeks in the bed I was going commando and go used to it. The bedpans and all. Um, I think I'll shut up now." Naruto ducked his head under the blankets.

Sakura laughed because she was somewhat used to what bedridden patients had to deal with. That the look on Naruto's face was priceless did not hurt either. Sakura put the ramen container on the rolling table next to the bed and lifted Hinata into the nearby chair. Then another evil idea rose in her head. She bent low to whisper in the heiress' ear, "Hinata, Naruto is dancing naked on the bed."

Hinata was awake and looking around in an instant.

Sakura was now laughing so hard she leaned on the wall and slid down it to sit. Tears came from her eyes and she gasped for breath as it continued. "First you faint … then him ... hiding under the covers … then you perk up like ooo where I wanna see … " Sakura finally just stopped trying to talk and laughed for a few more minute while Naruto and Hinata both blushed more and laughed a little bit.

When Sakura had calmed down some, the girls presented Naruto with the ramen and got caught up on current events.

* * *

Jiraiya finally found the pair of people he was looking for, the teammates of Sarutobi; Homura and Koharu. He glared at the elders and asked the question that was eating him up.

"Why did the pair of you deny Uzumaki Naruto's promotion to chunin in the Exams?"

Koharu spoke up first. "It was not a decision we made lightly, Jiraiya," she said. "We recognize his strength and abilities but we made the decision because it is in his and Konoha's best interest."

"Explain to me exactly HOW it is the best interest to deny promotion to someone who even you acknowledge is capable of higher rank," Jiraiya said coldly.

Homura spoke up now, "We have prepared for your questions. First, we are all aware of his heritage and of his burden. That he is the son of the Yondaime is a badly kept secret. Anyone old enough to recall Minato as a boy can see the resemblance immediately. Most of the village has not put that together yet but if he becomes more widely known, the secret WILL get out. This is for his own protection."

Koharu picked up next, "Second, he is the jailor of the Kyuubi. Just a few weeks ago, you were needed to rescue him from that group you gained information on. The fact they are after jinchuuriki is an ominous portent, Jiraiya. What if that group just wanted to release those monsters upon the world once more? By keeping him as a genin, he will be limited in the scope of his mission to where there will be stronger ninja with him at all times. The decision we made was to protect him, not to punish him. It will allow him time to become better and more able to defend himself against those mercenaries."

Homura picked up the thread once more, "We did put down in the paperwork a solid reason for denying him a promotion at this point. You did read that, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya was frowning. He had not read further down. He had stopped only at the summary, not going to the detailed analysis. He opened the folder up once more and flipped back several pages.

'_Uzumaki Naruto, genin, showed great ability and skill in his interrupted fight with Uchiha Sasuke. Judges recommend promotion to chunin.'_

'_Addendum: Internal Use Only. Promotion denied at this time. We agree that Uzumaki Naruto shows great promise and ability. However, internal analysis of applicant shows a lack of needed leadership and interpersonal skills that chunin rank requires. Once this deficiency is corrected, applicant will be recommended for promotion.'_

Jiraiya growled once more. They had covered themselves well. He could over rule them but it would be seen as favoritism and not that Naruto actually earned his rank. But he had one more card to play. "Fine, I will let your recommendation stand on one condition. I want your agreement that Uchiha Sasuke be turned over to the Interrogation Department for a full battery of mental testing. That boy is a danger to everyone around him. You saw how he acted in the Exams. He lost it. This morning he attacked a civilian. His mental state is not adequate for a ninja of Konoha. We have sat back and let him sink too far because of sympathy."

Homura looked over at Koharu who nodded back. "We will agree and add our recommendation on this, Hokage-sama."

Jiraiya strode out of the meeting with a sour taste in his mouth, 'I hate politics.'

* * *

Naruto trudged back to his apartment after being released from the hospital. He was still not 100 percent but he was as good as the hospital could get him. The rest would return with training and exercise. He was mildly surprised at the reactions he was getting on the street. More people were greeting him as he walked. Smiles were greater than glares. He was smiling slightly when he decided to stop in at Ichiraku Ramen for a light snack.

Ayame smiled and greeted him as always. "Hello Naruto," she said with her normal bubbly personality. "What can I get for you today?"

"Um, just a couple of bowls of miso, please," he replied.

Ayame nodded and a few minutes later brought him his meal. He ate the first bowl quickly but decided to savor the second. He had nearly finished it when Teuchi peeked out of the kitchen.

"Oi, Naruto. I heard they announced the promotions from the Chunin Exams. Sorry to hear you did not make it this time."

"Well, the Exams are overrated anyhow. Most people get promoted outside of them anyhow," he said glumly.

"You know, I bet if your fight had not been interrupted by the Invasion, you would have made it. You showed a lot of people how good you really are with pure skill."

Naruto nodded, "I know, its just … its just that getting promoted there means something. It shows that you are good enough to get promoted early and that you are someone to be noticed."

Ayame spoke up, "Naruto, you are a person to be noticed. Trust me on this, many people in the village saw how you handed the Uchiha his butt. You are good but maybe what you are good at is not what the judges were looking for. You should find out. Maybe you teachers might be able to help."

Naruto perked up some, "Gee, you're right Ayame. I'll go find them and ask them." The teen paid and headed off to see what he could learn.

Teuchi and Ayame smiled as the blonde vanished. "Jiraiya-sama was right. A nudge in the right direction was all the boy needs to get him moving again. Oh, Ayame, where did you put the book he gave me?"

Ayame smiled sweetly, "In the stove, it made a pretty fire when I burnt it."

* * *

Sasuke looked over the announcement of Chunin Exam promotions and frowned. They had passed him over. The lazy Nara and his bug infested teammate got promotions but not an Uchiha. The people here were all after him. They were denying him the skills and tools he needed to get his revenge on his brother. Well, if he could not get them here, he would just have to go find them somewhere else.

He returned to his temporary dorm and packed the few items he had left. He had a smirk on his face as he opened the door. He stopped and saw a pair of ANBU waiting there.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you will come with us. You are to be taken to the Interrogation Unit for mental evaluation."

Sasuke growled at their lousy timing.

* * *

Kakashi watched as the ANBU took his former student off to a holding area. It had been a near thing. The boy had his gear packed and was about to defect when the order for his evaluation came down. He was saddened that the last member of Obito's family had fallen so far but he hoped they could do something for the boy.

He was not sure what he would be doing now. Sasuke removed from active status and remanded to a mental ward. Shino was promoted to chunin and would be assigned new duties. Kiba would be transferred to the tracking unit to fill a hole left by so many of the dead Hyuuga. He was a teacher without students. Going back to ANBU right now was not really what he wanted. He would just have to make do.

* * *

Jiraiya sat listening in the staffing meeting. The various platoon and company leaders were making recommendations on promotions now that things had settled down some. This is where most chunin promotions happened anyhow. True, some people got noticed and promoted through the Chunin Exams but that was merely a showcase for the best and the brightest the various villages had to offer. Maybe one in one hundred that made chunin got their promotions via the Exams. Jonin needed to recommend their students and two others would need to agree with the evaluation. Sure, some made it through the process based on who they knew but not many. A jonin could be reduced in rank if a bad genin made chunin.

"Hokage-sama, are there any recommendations from First Platoon for consideration?" one jonin asked. First Platoon, also call the Hokage's Platoon was unique. It got its missions directly from the Hokage. It also contained what was referred to as the 'Hokage Line'. All the Hokages had come from First Platoon and had been a student of a Hokage at one time or another. To be included in First Platoon was seen as a sign that you were going to be noticed. Children of clan heads and Academy graduates tended to be the ones assigned there. Students of extraordinary promise were found there as well. It was the training ground for future leaders. The platoon also received the least military discipline of any other unit in Konoha.

The downside of it was also the fact that the few who fell, fell hard; Orochimaru, Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Itachi and now Uchiha Sasuke. The mental review of Sasuke listed him as clinically insane and separated from reality. His brother had truly done a number on his mind years before and only the Uchuha name had kept people from noticing until the boy had snapped.

Since he officially controlled First Platoon, he was needed here at this meeting. Jiraiya looked down at his notes and the list of possible promotions he could recommend. Team 10, Team Guy, and Team Apprentice all stood out. Three other teams he was not too familiar with yet from older years but they would not really need consideration until the next meeting. His eyes fell on his apprentice's name and he closed his eyes for a moment.

Looking up he said, "No recommendations at this time."

* * *

Hinata sat in her father's office as he went over her actions of the past month as pro tem leader of the clan. He approved of nearly all of her decisions, but he could live with light blue walls in his office for a few months. The smells of fresh wood work and paint still filled his office as it had taken some damage in the Invasion.

"Father, I did have a question," she asked once he was through.

"What question is that, Hinata?"

"As I was organizing your scattered files, I noticed a picture of your genin team. I was not aware that you trained under Jiraiya-sensei."

Hiashi smiled, "Yes, I was. It was a strange time and he has great skills as a ninja but as a man he leaves much to be desired. I am sure you have noticed that. Is that your question?"

Hinata blushed slightly and shook her head no. "No, Father. My question was, who is the blonde boy in the picture with you?"

Hiashi smiled and looked lost in memories for a moment. "He was Namikaze Minato. He became the Yondaime later on in life. Strange that one meaning of his name was suitable for those times, Port in the Storm."

Hinata barely heard the end of what her father was saying as she recalled hearing that name before.

Flashback 1

_Jiraiya pointed to Hinata. "First, we have Hyuuga Hinata. Hiashi's firstborn and Heir to the Hyuuga clan. Next to her is Haruno Sakura, student of Tsunade. The blonde is Uzumaki Naruto."_

"_Uzumaki?" The Daimyo motioned Jiraiya closer and spoke to him in a whisper. A few words could be heard by the team but nothing could be understood._

" … _son … ka … ato … " Jiraiya nodded and spoke in similar tones._

"_He … sn't kn … secr …"_

_Hinata noticed the look on the Daimyo's face as it betrayed his thoughts via body language to her Byakugan eyes. She was nowhere close to the level of the adults of the clan but she could pick up general mood and emotional state. The leader was confused by Naruto's name somehow, apparently expecting it to be different somehow. All she could get beyond his acceptance of Jiraiya's explanation was a single name read from the Daimyo's lips._

_Namikaze_

Flashback 2

_Sarutobi chuckled at Naruto's comment. "I think you just might make it with that attitude, Naruto." A muffled squeak sounded from the hallway. Sarutobi looked and smiled again. "Come in Hinata." The dark haired girl rolled into the room in a wheelchair, her leg wrapped in a cast. "Naruto, you have met Hinata already but let me introduce you officially. Naruto, meet Hyuuga Hinata, heir to the Hyuuga clan. Hinata meet Uzumaki Naruto, legacy of the Fourth and aspirant to the title of Hokage."_

Hinata whispered, "Legacy of the Fourth. Oh Kami."

Hiashi looked worried as Hinata grew paler than normal. "What is wrong, Hinata?" he asked.

Hinata looked back up at her father, "I just realized, Naruto is the son of the Yondaime."

* * *

Next Chapter: Back to Missions.

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* * *

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Review Notes:

I realized after it was posted and many people got confused on it that I had not stated in specific words that Naruto was rescued. During my own proof reading of it seemed clear enough but perhaps that was due to my knowing the story well past that point. As with my previous mistake regarding Naruto's healing in my own notes, I will admit them.

Reactions to my making Jiraiya the Hokage were generally positive which I am glad for. My story is diverging further off canon with each chapter so expect the unexpected. I figure me having crazy boy locked up finally will generate a few comments. He is not gone mind you, just put aside for a bit. He got stopped before he could go Anakin in the Jedi Temple on everyone.

**Parting Shot:**

I know my ideas surrounding the Chunin Exam and chunin promotions will make some controversy but I felt it needed to be said in a story.

The idea that the exams were the only peacetime path to chunin is plain dumb. If that was followed there would only be a dozen or so chunin in each village. My view is that the Chunin Exams are similar in nature to the military below the zone promotions. The battle parts showcase the village's genin but the genin get promoted individually on their own merits. A majority would get promoted based on time in service and recommendations of their superiors. Really lousy genin would never make chunin of course but also be subtly pushed into leaving the service or pushed into non critical positions.


	29. More Missions

Sorry about the delays. Life must come first. The job is still secure but less help means more for me to do and less time to spend on my own. Kid is getting into sports and school activites as well. Root for her to make the softball team.

**Back to Missions**

Jiraiya sat in the dark looking out at Konoha. At night, the village looked like any other town in the Fire Country. The ninja that routinely ran along the rooftops and identified it as special were all hidden in the darkness. He had been sitting there holding the same glass since before sunset; occasionally taking a sip.

A knock on the door stirred him from his thoughts. Tsunade let herself into the office and reached for the lights.

"Leave them off please, Tsunade. I find the darkness suits my mood right now," Jiraiya said.

Tsunade raised a single blonde eyebrow at how serious Jiraiya was. "Drinking without me already? Its not sake I can tell that but I can't place the smell."

"Scotch. It's a Western drink. The temperature it is served at does not matter so much so one drink can last a long time if you take it slowly."

"So, what brought this on?"

Jiraiya sighed and looked towards the ceiling. "I had to sell Naruto's promotion to chunin down the river in order to get the damned Uchiha locked up. The Exam judges recommended promotion but Sensei's teammates shot that down and set it up so if I pushed it through it would look like favoritism. Then that Uchiha brat pulled something on guard duty. Enough people still think of him as a poor misunderstood victim that they do not see he is an insane treacherous little bastard just like Orochi. So, I had to agree to not push the issue of Naruto's promotion at the latest promotion board if they would support locking the Uchiha up. Not even a week on this job and I am making compromises."

He paused in his monologue to take a sip of his drink before lapsing into silence.

Tsunade sat down on the edge of Jiraiya's desk. "Was the deal worth it?"

"Uchiha was taken into custody with his bags packed and about to defect from Konoha. If I had not done it, he would have been gone and people could have been hurt trying to stop him. The boy is strong enough to take out most of our chunin in a one on one situation. I am certain he would have used deadly force to make his escape. I did what was best for Konoha but it still feel like I did the wrong thing."

"So find a way to make it up to Naruto. The preliminary stage of the next Chunin Exam is scheduled to be in about four more months in the Land of Lightning. Send him to that one. Heck, Sakura and Hinata are both ready as well. Send the whole team. Bump someone older to get them into the ten teams we can send. The fact that Naruto was recommended but denied means they would be on the top of the list"

"They are already first on the list. But they need more missions outside of Konoha to meet the Cloud requirements. The Cloud testing method is more on ability than on knowledge and teamwork like our Exam. Since the excuse Homura and Koharu used was a lack of leadership role for Naruto and the Cloud Exams tend to focus on that aspect is a benefit for him. If he comes back with a recommendation from there, they would be forced to put their support behind him."

Tsunade smiled, "So you have a plan, now you just have to get it into action. What are you going to do?"

Jiraiya pulled out a folder and handed it to Tsunade. "A movie producer is looking for some special bodyguards for his big star. I was thinking of assigning Kakashi to handle our kids during it. He did some work in the Land of Snow a few years back. Normally a C-rank but upped to B-rank pay due to the actress being Fujikaze Yukie. The producer wanted some younger ninja that could blend into the background as interns unless needed. The mission request start date is next week."

* * *

Hinata had trouble sleeping after her realization. Her father informed her that Naruto's heritage was another S-ranked secret of the village. If she told anyone, including Naruto, there would be serious consequences. She now knew two of them concerning Naruto. It did strike her as funny that so many people knew the most closely guarded secrets in Konoha but few ever really said anything about them. Likely because the known penalty for telling the one about the Kyuubi was death or long term imprisonment.

She rolled over and tried to get some more sleep. Her father resuming active control over the clan meant that she would be returning to active duty soon. She needed her rest. 'Team Apprentice' would be needed with so many Konoha ninja gone.

* * *

Sakura had heard from Ino within an hour of it happening. Sasuke had been arrested and committed for mental problems after trying to kill a civilian. She wondered only briefly about the consequences but really did not care beyond that. Her own feelings were mixed.

Yes, she had obsessed about him and almost ruined her own career as a ninja for him. But he had never accepted the offer she had made back then. He never let anyone else into his life. He only festered in his own misery and kept himself unchanged mentally; trapped in the place his brother had put him. She had outgrown Uchiha Sasuke long before he tried to kill her in the Chunin Exams.

She had left her own mark on him as well. Looking back she knew his potential killing blow had been a result of her own action. She held a small part for his final fall into madness but she put that thought aside. He had been offered salvation from too many sources; too many people willing to help but he never put his hand out once to accept the offers.

Her team would be reactivated soon. She pulled out all of her weapons and scrolls and checked them over. Hours into the night, she finally came to her father's kunai. Traces of blood still remained on the blade. She had never cleaned it after the Exams. Her father had never used it during the Invasion and it had merely been put away as it was. She twisted it for a moment in the light before reaching for the cleaning supplies.

* * *

Naruto groaned as the sunlight fell on his face. Dawn would bring the most horrible thing in the world …

His door shook under a series of heavy blows. "I know you are still in that bed, gaki! Move it!"

… PT with Anko.

He rolled to his feet and reached for his exercise clothing. After a quick run to the bathroom, he was opening the door to his apartment to see a grinning Anko-sensei.

"Good morning, Naru-kun," Anko crooned in a sugary sweet voice. "No more laying about having sweet dreams and fantasies of your pretty almost girlfriend and back to training with me."

Naruto stuttered that he did not think of Hinata like that but his blush told Anko otherwise.

'Oh, I love teasing kids in the middle of puberty,' she thought. The seed of a thought she just planted would be returned many fold in a few minutes. She led Naruto to the running track to find the medical corps bunched up with Hinata along with them as was usual.

"I am not expecting you to keep up with them for a few more days, Naruto. No chakra in the legs. I want it all physical but you can only go at the pace I tell you. Hinata will be watching so do not overdo things on your first day. If you need to stop, stop and Hinata will get my attention."

"You must be slipping Anko-sensei; that actually sounded concerned," Naruto joked.

Anko gave her trademarked evil smirk "If you overdo things and end up back in the hospital, I don't get to play throw the kunai at you this afternoon during agility training. I am not having my favorite target absent because he is too hurt to let me have my fun."

Naruto smiled back. It had taken him months to see that Anko put on an act like he did in public. Both had long standing hurts they covered up. Anko hid hers by acting sadistic but never really straying into the realm of being sadistic. Naruto hid his by smiling often when he really hurt. Hinata and Sakura were pushing him to drop that mask but he was slow to do so. Around his friends he could be himself. For the villagers; they got the grinning blonde idiot who was not worth messing with.

Anko decided to play one last joke on Naruto as the group began their run. Naruto was about to follow at the speed Anko said when she leaned close to his ear whispering, "Oh, don't those sweatpants make Hinata's tush look niiiiiiice."

Naruto blushed heavily as she pushed him into motion. She was not going to not let herself forget the things both her apprentice and the blonde boy had told her. Playing matchmaker between the teens would be fun, more so because each one already liked the other. For herself, she had her eye on a certain chunin teacher who would be getting a few lessons of his own shortly.

* * *

Jiraiya was glad to get out of the office even for just one day a week to exercise and spend time with Naruto. As Hokage he never really had a day off but he made sure that his work load was lighter by simply having all the D-rank mission reports stamped by his secretary. As he had noticed in his first day, this cleared out more than half of the paperwork that would have crossed his desk. He still looked over all over mission reports.

He took Naruto to a wide training field. The large open space suited his needs today.

"Naruto, as you know, I am currently the only summoner of toads. They choose who their summoner can be, not the other way around. When I first signed the contract, I didn't know that I had been chosen for it. I had only assumed the Third picked me for it. They have been after me to find a successor since the Fourth died. I asked them and they have approved of you signing on to be the next toad summoner."

Naruto was shocked. He knew that the Fourth had been able to summon toads but he had not even thought about being a summoner himself. Most jonin could not summon at all as few summons existed in Konoha. Tsunade summoned slugs and Anko summoned snakes as training tools for them but as far as he knew neither showed any inclination to get their own apprentices to sign onto the contracts.

Jiraiya summoned a man sized toad wearing armor. The toad pulled out the contract and Naruto did as Jiraiya instructed and signed in the next open space in blood. He did notice that the previous name Namikaze Minato had darkened to black while Jiraiya's name was still a fresh blood red. The few names appearing before Jiraiya's were also darkened to black.

Naruto watched as Jiraiya showed him the proper hand signs. He made them with the blood still fresh on his fingers. He was glad of all the months of charka control his teachers had him doing. He felt little strain as he pressed his hand to the ground saying the name of the jutsu.

The smoke of the summoning dispersed and he saw an orange toad about the size of a softball.

"Yo," the toad said, "I'm Gamakichi."

Naruto smiled as Jiraiya just leaned back on a tree to watch.

* * *

Time passed quickly for Naruto. Weeks seemed to blur by as he went on many mission both with his team and without. The mission to the Land of Snow under Kakashi had been a huge adventure. The actress was revealed as Kazahana Koyuki, the only child of the late Daimyo of the Land of Snow and her evil uncle had been after her for years. They managed to keep her safe and found the massive generators her father had built for the country. Now renamed the Land of Spring, the country was under the new rule of Kazahana Koyuki.

A single day of rest had them leaving on their next mission to the Land of Tea under the supervision of Tsunade. While she spent her time with her old friend Wasabi Jirocho, Team Apprentice protected a runner in the Land of Tea's annual shrine race. A missing nin from Konoha, Rokusho Aoi, was captured and his stolen Raijin sword was recovered for Konoha. The runner, who turned out to be Ibiki's younger brother Idate, was also a Konoha missing nin. Idate was forgiven at the urging of Tsunade and discharged with a clean record.

Several forgettable C-rank missions happened after that. He guarded a caravan as it meandered to several small towns over a period of two weeks near the border of Rice Country. Reports of the destruction of the Sound Village by the daimyo of the Rice Fields Country had left many merchants nervous and looking for extra protection. Next, he ferried messages to the capital with Sakura and Hinata. The only bright spot in the delivery was that the Daimyo was glad to see the trio and took time to talk to each of them and have them meet his teenage son. His mentioning that good relations between Konoha and the Daimyo were important meant little to the blonde but the girls kept Naruto in check from becoming too outspoken.

Naruto was next sent on a mission with Team Guy when a report of a village in the Fire Country was having trouble arrived. The mission ended up encountering one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. After much work on their part the village was freed but both the Swordsman and his assistant were killed in an avalanche ending the threat.

* * *

In the Land of Water, a young Academy level ninja lay dying from wounds inflicted on him. He had fled from his former comrades when they began hunting him. The latest round of bloodline extermination in the island nation would soon claim another victim. The rumor that this young man's ability to control mist and clouds was a bloodline was enough to turn friends against him. He ran away from his family when the hunt started and he hoped his younger brother Yukimaru would be safe from these people. The final sword blow came down and severed his head from his body. The last thing his purple tinted eyes saw was the seal on his stomach throb with light as his vision faded.

The Mizukage was livid when he heard that some of the ninja of the Mist had killed the jinchuuriki of the Sanbi. All of his work in getting the beast sealed for Akatsuki to simply pick up was now wasted. It would be years before the Sanbi's chakra reorganized into a capturable form. He was even denied the pleasure of killing the fools himself. The chakra backlash from the jinchuuriki's death had killed all the ones responsible.

Uchiha Madara left his body double in charge one more as he left to tell Pain that the plan would be delayed another three years until the Sanbi chakra reformed at the place of it's birth.

Capturing the existing jinchuuriki now would be a pointless exercise if they could not seal all the bijuu soon after capture. The beasts would not remain contained in the statue for three years without all nine present. Akatsuki would return to stage one and accumulate money and resources. Perhaps take over Pain's hometown, the Village Hidden in the Rain.

* * *

Anko looked at Jiraiya and dropped the request on his desk with a grin. The white haired man arched an eyebrow as he picked it up to read what it said.

"This is a request to take the team on a 2 week 'survival training exercise' at a beach resort. While I can understand the need to take training seriously, I cannot see a real pressing need to subsidize a vacation for you Anko."

:Look, _Hokage-sama_, we need this time off. The team is getting sloppy with all the missions you have been sending them on along with all the training we have them doing to get them ready for the Cloud Chunin Exams. I even thought of a really good cover story for it too. Kakashi told me they all stood out like sore thumbs during that mission to Snow Country. They looked like ninja the whole time and never relaxed. They were supposed to be undercover but they don't know how to act like civilians. This little 'training exercise' will give them some idea of how to behave in an atmosphere where they are not expected to be ninja and need to pass as civilian teenagers."

"So romping around on the beach is supposed to teach them to act like civilians? Going out to parties and mingling with the locals?" Jiraiya said with a tired tone in his voice.

Anko grinned, "Yup."

Jiraiya shook his head. "What about Naruto on this one? I can see you minding Hinata and Sakura just fine but that would leave Naruto by himself. Unless of course you intended the kids to stay together in the same hotel room with you."

Anko pointed at the area for additional personnel requested for the mission. "I added one of the few men he trusts as the 'trainer' for this 'mission', Umino Iruka."

Jiraiya sighed. Anko had this one all planned out. Jiraiya hated that so many factors were pushing him into a corner. The village was teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. Konoha was accepting nearly all the missions it could get. Chunin were going out on missions normally done by jonin. Teams of genin were going in place of what a single chunin could accomplish. He still refused missions with extremely low survival rates but beyond that he needed to take morally questionable missions to insure the ability to pay the troops and rebuild the village.

To make it worse, the kids were due some down time. They had gone on back to back missions for weeks. The major trouble was many daimyos and clients that had seen Naruto at the Chunin Exams were requesting the team specifically. Team Apprentice was literally the biggest cash cow team Konoha had right now. Taking them off duty for two entire weeks would cost the village a lot of money.

He remembered Tsunade had also been pushing him to give the kids some time off. She had become his closest advisor and was slowly pushing the old teammates of Sarutobi-sensei out of the sphere of influence for the Hokage's office in general. His leaned back to rub his head and saw the chunin vest Tsunade had purposely hung in one corner of the room.

'_Why are you leaving a chunin vest in my office, Hime?'_

'_To remind you every time you look at it that every choice you make effects the future of the ninja who are working for you. To make you think what a compromise on what you think is best for the village over what is best for the ninja can cost one of them.'_

Jiraiya looked back to Anko, "Will you bring me a bunch of pictures of pretty young ladies in bikinis?"

Anko grinned, "Sure thing."

Jiraiya pulled out his stamp and signed approved to the 'survival training' mission. If his source had not told him that Akatsuki had stopped with their jinchuuriki hunting, the little vacation Anko planned out would have gone nowhere.

* * *

Anko sauntered up to the half rebuilt Academy with the mission orders in hand. Iruka would be here somewhere. He had gotten a promotion within the school to one of the vice principals. Luckily, the place would not finish rebuilding for a minimum of a month so she could pull him away from all this without feeling guilty. She narrowed her gaze at her victim and pounced.

"Iruka!" Anko cried out as she leapt onto the chunin's back and wrapped her legs around him as if getting a piggy back ride.

Iruka knew the voice of the woman on his back. Even if he didn't know her voice, the feeling of chain mail against his back and waist was a sure give away. "Hi Anko. What brings you by today?"

"You, my old buddy, have been assigned a highly classified and top secret mission by the Hokage," she told him with a smirk.

Iruka got worried hearing that. Since he was an instructor, he had not been on a mission in over a year. "What kind of mission Anko?"

"You and me get to supervise a team of genin as they conduct a survival training exercise," she said happily.

"You sound too happy about this, Anko. Do they have to be in Training Area 44 or something?"

"Even better. They need to survive as normal teenagers for two weeks at a beach resort. You get to chaperone the male member of the team."

Iruka thought for a few seconds before realizing. "Wait a minute. That sounds vaguely like a vacation."

Anko leaned close to Iruka's ear and whispered, "I knew you were a smart chunin." She then nibbled on his ear for a moment before getting off his back.

"I can't go on a vacation now. There is still a lot of rebuilding to get done here," Iruka protested.

Anko put a shocked look on her face. "You mean you are going to leave poor Naruto all alone. Force him to sleep in the same room as three young women who will be sleeping in dainty nightwear. One of the ladies being one he has a crush on. He might end up turning into a pervert being subjected to that!"

Anko faked swooning before grinning at Iruka one more time at seeing his raised eyebrow. "A bit over the top there?"

"Just a bit," Iruka said shaking his head.

"Seriously, these kids have been constantly on missions almost since Naruto got out of the hospital. That is nearly three months straight. In another month, they are going to be leaving for the Chunin Exams at the Cloud village. If they do not get a break now, they will not be seeing one for at least another two months. Yes, the 'survival exercise' is really a vacation but they have earned it. That team by itself has pulled in enough business to Konoha to pay for this nice new school you will be teaching in soon."

Iruka sighed, "Since you put it that way. It would be nice to spend some time relaxing and playing chaperone for a trio of teenagers. I just might feel guilty about it while others will be working."

"Well, either way, its Hokage's orders so pack up your trunks and sunblock, Iruka-kun,"

* * *

The beach resort in the southern part of the Land of Fire was much hotter than it was in Konoha. Shorts and short sleeved shirts were almost a requirement to keep cool. Halfway to the resort Anko had them stop in a small town.

"Ok, I have a few rules for the three of you during our 'exercise'. One, no weapons on your person at all. Two, anything with a Konoha symbol on it will be sealed up into a scroll I have before we leave this town. That includes your headbands. Three, if you need to replace anything that has a Konoha symbol on it once we leave this town, it comes out of your personal cash, not the mission funds. With that in mind, I'll help the girls with what they need. Iruka, you help Naruto. I know they will need more trendy clothes than they have now if they are to blend in. If anyone asks, you are students at a private school back in the mountains.

Iruka led Naruto off to a clothing store. He knew he had the easier job when it came to shopping. Within a half hour, Naruto was set for clothes; a couple pair of jeans, some shorts that doubled as swim trunks and a half dozen t-shirts in assorted colors. Iruka allowed Naruto to keep his ninja sandals since they were common enough footwear throughout the region.

Anko looked through the girl's clothes and saw they had only a handful of items outside of weapons that would need to be sealed up. She did let Sakura keep most of the first aid kit. The more exotic items she held on to. Her first problem came up when she found neither girl had any kind of swimsuit other than the ones from the Academy. She led Sakura and almost had to drag Hinata into a shop that sold them.

Hinata was growing nervous as she watched Anko work her way through the racks. She glanced at a few tags for sizing and then over at each of the girls. She knew that Hinata still hid under her jacket as often as possible but Anko knew that was not an option on this trip. But she needed to have her own fun. She pulled out a blue string bikini that was little more than 3 palm sized triangles and string and held it out to Hinata. "What do you think of this one kiddo?"

"Um, Anko-sensei, I don't think my father would approve of me wearing that," she stammered out. The blush Hinata managed seemed to glow even in the bright lights of the shop.

Anko grinned, "Silly, this one is for me." The purple haired woman then held out a plain purple one piece racer back suit to Hinata. "This one is yours."

The pale eyed girl looked very relieved. She picked out a lavender beach blouse, a big straw hat and sunglasses to go with it so she could hold onto a bit more modesty.

Sakura didn't quite near the curves of Anko so she went for the more athletic look. She settled on a red two piece with boy shorts bottom and a horizontal striped top to 'enhance' what she did have.

The trio then went to the shoe store to buy sandals to match their new swimwear.

* * *

Hours later, Iruka and Naruto were still waiting for the female trio. Naruto's stomach was growling loudly as they had waited through lunch and it was getting to be late afternoon. Finally, they spotted the girls coming closer. It seemed they all had bought new wardrobes based on the number of bags and boxes they carried.

The girls stopped in front of the stunned males. Anko dropped he entire collection of items at Iruka's feet and smiled ever so sweetly, "Could you carry those for me, Iruka-kun?"

Iruka was stunned by the sight of Anko in civilian clothing. Her bending to set the bags down had exposed a grand amount of cleavage to him and his mind went into 'Error: Reset Required' mode so he just nodded as Anko turned to the teens, "First lesson in seduction, my young kunoichi. Hit 'em in their hormones!"

Naruto just sat confused but was suddenly scared when Hinata smiled and asked, "Naruto-kun, could you help me with my bags?" Her slight blush and small pout made him cave in faster than Iruka. She handed him the bags from one of her hands.

Sakura just handed off one handful of bags to Naruto with a gruff, "Carry these!"

Since the women had taken so long in their shopping, Anko decided they would spend the night in the town they were currently in and finish their trip to the resort in the morning. Iruka spent his time that night talking to Naruto about how their lives just got really complicated. Naruto just nodded a lot as he learned many of the mysteries of women that civilian men had to deal with on a daily basis.

* * *

The following afternoon, the group arrived at the resort area. Naruto was stunned by the amount of women in skimpy swimwear even on the street. Anko led the way to the hotel they were booked into while the team looked around at things they had only read about. Even their trips to the capital had not been like this. Soon, a blushing Naruto had his eyes focused on the ground about five steps ahead of him muttering, "I am not a pervert, I am not a pervert."

The group waited while Anko checked them in. She smiled at the desk clerk while she explained things about travel difficulties and all. The clerk was efficient and got them the room Anko had reserved. She saw it was exactly what she had asked for and walked back to the team.

"We have a small snag here people. Since we arrived late, they rented out the separate rooms we were going to have. Instead they are letting us have a larger suite. It has two bedrooms and a smaller common area between them and one bathroom."

"So we will be sharing this suite?" Iruka asked with a nervous tone in his voice.

Anko nodded before looking at the team. "This is what happens when you show up late somewhere. Your plans get messed up. We'll just have to make the best of it."

In the suite, the women took the larger of the two bedrooms and made sure the door was fully closed before getting changed. The group's first destination was the beach. Naruto and Iruka got changed in minutes then sat to wait on the women. Sooner than they expected, the door opened and Anko led out the teens. All three women had put on something over their swimwear. Anko sported an overlarge t-shirt that read '2 Good 4 U' on it. Hinata had the beach blouse she had picked out the previous day. Sakura had a plain white t-shirt over her swimsuit.

The pink haired teen had been the last one to leave the bedroom but it would not have mattered if she had come out stark naked. Iruka was too busy staring at Anko and Naruto was in a stunned state at seeing Hinata's bare legs. She leaned close to Hinata and whispered, "I think you broke his mind, Hinata. I bet he would do anything you asked right now and not even worry about the consequences."

Anko smirked, "Pinkie; that is the general idea behind these things. Show men that for all their strength, kunoichi rule when shinobi drool. Just keep an eye on how he reacts when this shirt comes off."

Both teens giggled at Anko's comment. They had seen what Anko had on under the shirt and for a split second both had considered switching sides.

* * *

Several hours later, Sakura was very bored. She had looked forward to the time on the beach but the whole thing was turning into 'a real drag' as Shikamaru would say. Civilians did not judge her by her abilities or accomplishments. They judged her by her age and she was still only 13.

Their arrival had been quite eventful when Anko removed her t-shirt to reveal the very tiny string bikini she had bought. Iruka was a subservient drooling mass after that and obeyed Anko's every whim. 'Geez, the guy would eat sand right now if Anko sensei asked him to,' she thought. 'Naruto is not much better. He is waiting on Hinata hand and foot. Even in a one piece her chest looks bigger than mine.'

"I'm going for a walk," Sakura announced. Anko was the only one who noticed her statement and replied, "Have fun." The snake summoner then went back to teasing in her prey in the form of one Umino Iruka. Naruto and Hinata were down by the waterline exploring whatever had washed up.

Sakura huffed and headed off past groups of people. A majority of the people were older teens and adults. Families with small children made up the rest. 'I must be the biggest loser out here,' she thought once she got to an open area. 'I thought this would be a fun thing. At least back in Konoha there would be people my own age. The only guys I have even talked to so far took off right away. I mean that one guy didn't have to say he isn't into little girls.'

She picked up a ball sized rock and without thinking, just threw it out into the water. It sailed out nearly a quarter mile before plunking down into the water "Wow, impressive arm," a voice behind her said. Sakura spun around to see a teen a year or two older than she was. The dark haired boy smiled at her, "You must be an athlete."

Sakura blushed. "Um, sort of. The private school I go to has us involved in a lot of activities."

"I'm Hiro. I go to a private school too. You on a school trip as well?" he asked.

"I'm Sakura. Yeah, my teachers are down the beach a bit. The purple haired one with no shame and the drooling one next to her. How about you?"

"He is back at the hotel right now. He had a little too much to drink last night and said he wasn't moving until the ground stopped spinning and his headache went away."

Sakura giggled. "We just got here this morning and haven't seen the nightlife yet. I was hoping the beach would be fun but everyone here so far treats me like a child."

Hiro smiled, "I get the same problem. I wanted to go out with some people I met yesterday but as soon as I got to the clubs, they were like, 'Go home kid' Very frustrating. Back at school, I am treated like an adult."

Sakura nodded knowingly.

"So, what's the school's name?" Hiro asked.

"It doesn't really have one. It is owned by the Fire Temple back in the mountains. Those monks are big on physical fitness but I could never live like that."

"I go to one in the capital. 'Daimyo's School for Wayward Boys'.

"Oh, so does that make you a bad boy?" Sakura asked with a smile.

"You interested in finding out?" Hiro asked with a smile. "It's really not as bad as it sounds. Lots of orphans and such," Hiro chuckled.

The pair slowly walked down the beach talking after that. Sakura barely noticed they had walked far from the area her teachers and friends were and had entered into the beach area for another hotel.

"You want something to drink?" Hiro asked.

"Sure," Sakura replied.

She watched as the teen walked up to a vendor and bought a couple of drinks. She knew that sometimes guys tried to pull stuff with drinks so she made sure he didn't slip something into hers. He presented her with a sealed bottle and she smiled at him. It was nice and cold. She popped it open and took a drink of it while he sipped at his own. The drink was tangy and she did not recognize the brand name but his was the same only a different flavor so she did not worry. Hiro pointed to a bench and led her over to it.

Sakura relaxed as the pair sat and drank for a while. The people kept walking past on the beach while the pair made small talk. When the drinks were finished, Sakura started to stand up but found herself getting dizzy. She blinked her eyes a few times before passing out.

* * *

Anko was drowsing in the sunshine while Iruka rubbed more lotion on her back. 'This was such a good idea' she thought. 'I could get used to being pampered by this guy.'

Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice, "Mistress, something has happened to the pink one."

Anko's eyes flew open and she saw the tiny head of one of her summons sticking up out of the sand. "Where? How?"

The snake hissed out his reply, "Down the beach near the next hotel. She was engaging in a courtship ritual with a male and she drank something. She passed out. I returned immediately to inform you."

Anko sat up quickly and reached for her t-shirt.

"What's wrong Anko?" Iruka asked.

"The snake I had keeping an eye on Sakura said she passed out after drinking something down by the next hotel.

"I'll grab the things and Naruto and Hinata. You go get Sakura," Iruka said.

Anko nodded and pulled her t-shirt down over herself. She ran down the beach toward the hotel the snake had inclined it's head to. Her chakra increased her speed as she ran over the sand; leaving no trace in it of her passing.

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes and looked around at the darkened room she was in. Voices nearby were drawing closer as she tried to clear her head. She could not focus her chakra to activate her Mystic Palm technique and just got more tired as she tried. In spite of her caution, she had been set up and drugged. That soda vendor had to be in on it.

She could hear Hiro's voice on the other side of the door "I think this one is a good one. She should get a decent price for us. She was wandering the beach all alone and upset."

A silky voice sounded next, "You are lucky I am still searching for new recruits, boy. The last few test subjects you lured in barely lasted a day each. It is difficult to operate in these resort areas but this is where the ones tossed aside come to looking for a new start."

Hiro's voice spoke again, "This one might be special. She threw a rock a long distance out to sea and has the strangest pink hair. I thought …" The voice cut off with a gurgle as the silky voice spoke loudly.

"You captured a NINJA! You FOOL! This means she will be missed or was on a mission to find out about disappearing teens. KABUTO, we are changing locations within the hour!" The gurgle stopped with a slapping sound and she heard something drop to the floor.

The door to the room opened and light spilled in. It back lit a man of medium height with a large rope belt tied in a bow behind him. As he stepped closer, the lights turned on and she saw his pale skin and slit eyes.

"I have seen you before child. Yes, you are Sensei's pet project. The fool thought he could inspire people with a group of children and make a new Sannin out of them. Sakura-chan, isn't it?"

"Who … who are you?" Sakura stuttered out as he fear cleared her mind slightly.

"Ah, that's right. We were never introduced. I am of the original Sannin. I am Orochimaru."

* * *

Next Chapter: Curse Marks

* * *

Review Notes:

The whole issue that the elders were pushing hard on is that they do not want to lose control of the Kyuubi that is in Naruto. They know that there is a group hunting him but they cannot stop him doing missions or put him in a jail cell because of Sarutobi allowing him to be a ninja in the first place. Too many highly placed people know about Naruto. The Daimyo already knows about him and that he is the son of the Fourth. With that, he cannot simply be 'disappeared'. Their last best option is to keep him as a genin as long as possible and close to Konoha or highly supervised.  
For the anonymus reviewer who called Fail on chapter 28. Everything cannot go Naruto's way. Other characters have their own agendas and all want them to succeed. Life is a series of compromises and eveyone makes them one way or another. Fail Denied.  
I do not mind bad reviews. I never have and I leave them in the listing. I encourage strong critiques of my work even if they are negative. A person named Narutomaniac was one who rarely had anything positive to say but has not been around in a long time. I also leave anonymus reviews open because no one has abused that feature on me yet. At nearly 1000 reviews, I have only had cause to delete only one because it was abusive.

End Notes:

I am taking a few chances in my writing in this chapter. I was going for more fluff than I am comfortable with. I am also giving a plausible reason why the Akatsuki would simply stop going after Naruto and the jinchuuriki for a few years. I added in a created character based on the splash page of the nine jinchuuriki. The 3-tailed has one shown but is it free by the time of Shippuden. I used the theory that Yukimaru is related to the 3-tail jinchuuriki in some fashion that give it the small amount of control the anime shows. Since the Fourth seal is different than most seals and intended to keep the Kyuubi trapped and have it die with Naruto one day; killing a normal jinchuuriki should release the bijou. The having it need time to reform over a period of years gives the needed 3 year delay that canon has. My story is moving further and further off of canon as this chapter shows but other events in the wider world are still happening as original.


	30. Curse Seals

**The Curse Marks**

_The door to the room opened and light spilled in. It back lit a man of medium height with a large rope belt tied in a bow behind him. As he stepped closer, the lights turned on and she saw his pale skin and slit eyes._

"_I have seen you before child. Yes, you are Sensei's pet project. The fool thought he could inspire people with a group of children and make a new Sannin out of them. Sakura-chan, isn't it?"_

"_Who … who are you?" Sakura stuttered out as he fear cleared her mind slightly._

"_Ah, that's right. We were never introduced. I am of the original Sannin. I am Orochimaru."_

* * *

Sakura was trying her hardest to generate any chakra at all. This guy freaked her out and all she wanted to do was get away from him.

"Oh stop struggling little girl," Orochimaru crooned in his hypnotic voice. "That little drink you had shut down your ability to use chakra for another few hours at least. Now tell me, who knows you are here?"

Sakura could remember all the training she had gone through on how to resist interrogation. She also remembered what Anko had said when you had nothing to hide or are outclassed; sing like a bird! Giving them some information freely would always delay torture. Since it was also likely that a captured genin would break under torture anyhow, keeping herself as physically safe as possible was the over riding issue.

"I'm here on a training exercise with my team. We didn't expect to run into you," Sakura stated.

"Ah, yes. So no one vital knows I am here, that is good, very good," chuckled Orochimaru. "You are being strangely cooperative, child. Why is that?"

Sakura felt Orochimaru's eyes on her and was frightened. "Because I don't think I could keep any information hidden no matter what I do," she replied in a scared voice.

"Yes, that is true child. You couldn't. Now, who is on your team?" Orochimaru got very close to the trembling Sakura. She could feel his hot breath on her neck.

"Anko-sensei, Iruka-sensei and my team," she said flinching badly as far from his breath as she could get.

"Ah, Anko-chan is here. That explains the summonings I felt a few minutes ago. It seems she has lost track of you, Sakura-chan. She is close by but even close is too far away to help you right now."

Kabuto looked through the open doorway, "Orochimaru-sama, everything is ready for us to leave at your command."

"Ah, thank you Kabuto, you are a good servant. Come see the little girl who ruined our plans of adding this place to our network. It seems it was not intentional but that is of no importance right now. She is already missed and that means this base of operations will be found soon enough. The people here will be of no use to us in supplying test subjects discretely."

Kabuto walked over, "Haruno Sakura, second apprentice to Senju Tsunade the Slug Princess. I remember her from the Chunin Exams a number of months back. She is the one that put the scar on the cheek of Sasuke-kun and almost cut his eye."

Orochimaru glanced back to Sakura, "Yes, more interesting however, she bears a passing resemblance to Tsu-hime; right down to her tiny chest. Her luck must be equally bad if she fell into a civilian trap."

Sakura blushed heavily at being compared physically to her teacher. She managed to control her breathing enough to prevent herself from hyperventilating.

"But, I am not sure if I should thank you for helping destroy Sasuke-kun's grip on sanity or hate you for destroying his beautiful face," Orochimaru crooned softly from behind Sakura. Sakura tried but failed to suppress a shiver from Orochimaru being so close to her. "Make a note Kabuto, for when we destroy Konoha. If she lives I want to experiment on this one."

Kabuto waited in silence for Orochimaru to have his fun.

"Anko-chan is getting closer, Kabuto. You had better head off to the meeting point. I will be along shortly. I have a few things left to discuss with this child before I leave. I would have so loved to have given her a seal and see what it became on her." Orochimaru looked to see Kabuto cast his jutsu and disappear into the ground.

Orochimaru looked back at Sakura and felt the need to toy with the girl further. "I have heard that Konoha made my old teammate Jiraiya into the Hokage. Has he sprung all of his perversions on you kunoichi yet?"

"Jiraiya-sensei is a good Hokage," Sakura replied in a quiet voice.

"You do not sound so convinced of that, child. Not convinced at all. No matter, it will not be long for him either. I do want you to bring him a message. Tell him that I send my regards and that I want my pet Uchiha returned to me. I have taken a liking to him and Jiraiya-kun had the boy locked up where I cannot get to him. That is very displeasing to me. Perhaps I should keep you and make a trade? Ah, but then who would deliver my message?"

'This guy is a nutjob,' Sakura thought

The sound of a breaking door nearby made Orochimaru look away from Sakura, who slid further away from the Snake Sannin. The crash was replaced by a shout she recognized as Anko's voice, "WHERE IS SHE?"

* * *

Anko screamed out her anger and saw several teens and a few older men scatter. Her first impression of the place was a slavery operation. She thought Sakura was trained better than to fall for something like getting drugged. Her snakes had followed Sakura's scent right to the building she had just kicked open. Now her own senses were telling her that something even worse was going on here than slavery. She could smell HIM.

'Dammit, none of us are prepared to face that bastard. No weapons, and not enough manpower. If we can get Sakura out and retreat that would be the best I could hope for today.'

A silky voice sounded from the shadows ahead, "Ah, my wayward apprentice has come for a visit. If you had only called ahead I would have had tea waiting. I remember how much you love tea, Anko-chan."

Anko flinched as being reminded of her past and knew she did not make a very intimidating person in her sandals and '2 Good 4 U' t-shirt over a string bikini. "Just give me the girl and I will leave, Orochimaru," she said as calmly as she could.

"I am saddened; Anko-chan. Showing concern for another is not what I taught you."

"I've learned better things since I was your apprentice," she hissed in reply. She had to play for time. Iruka would be following soon with Hinata and Naruto. If Naruto tapped into the Kyuubi chakra; that would set off an alert seal in Konoha so Jiraiya would know something was going wrong on the trip.

"So, I thought you were busy raiding villages in Rice Fields for test subjects, not the vacation spots of the Fire Country. The Rice daimyo growing a spine against you cut into your playtime?"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at Anko with her taunt. "Mind your tongue, apprentice. I shall deal with that turncoat in due time. The fool feared the full weight of the Fire Country's military more than Me."

"Well, I guess getting new recruits was tough after your village got beaten so badly. Your side had over 800 dead and captured. Konoha lost less than half that many ninja."

Orochimaru had regained him calm demeanor. He recognized Anko was playing for time now. "Are your reinforcements running late, Anko-chan? As far as the losses Sound incurred, we both know a few genin will not make a difference in battle other than to increase the body count. Their only purpose was to divert attention with numbers while the Sand village did the real damage. Those cowards could not even storm a captured gate. Alas, good help is hard to find. They shall suffer as well, in time."

The sound of more people arriving and beating up the slavers that were trying to escape make both Orochimaru and Anko glance over at another door. "Ah, your friends have caught up, Anko-chan. Since I am just passing through and I need to keep a low profile for the moment, I will just take my leave."

Anko remained in a defensive stance as the other door in the room opened to show Iruka holding a weapon with Hinata and Naruto guarding his flank each holding kunai and standing in a defensive taijutsu stance.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Oh no, I am surrounded," he said sarcastically. "Whatever shall I do?"

Anko almost reacted in time when Orochimaru focused his killing intent in the group, causing all of them to freeze up under its power. The Sannin made a few hand signs and his neck extended to bite Anko over her original curse mark. She screamed and fell to the ground as Orochimaru slid past her saying, "A small gift Anko-chan. Since I have learned so much more on how my curse seals work since you got yours, I decided to upgrade and activate it for you. No need to thank me. Make sure your pink haired friend delivers my message to Jiraiya-kun."

The Snake Sannin then disappeared into the ground as Anko was writhing on the ground in pain, holding her neck.

Naruto created a dozen shadow clones to bind the fallen slavers with whatever was at hand as Iruka picked up Anko. Hinata got Sakura and the group headed outside to wait for the local police.

Within minutes, the slaver hideout was swarming with police as Iruka was tending to Anko outside. The jonin was getting short on breath and began gasping for air as her moan lessened.

Iruka growled as he told the team, "The curse seal she had for years is reacting with that bite. It's killing her."

* * *

Tsunade was sitting back drinking saucers of sake as she leaned back from her desk. For once, all of her work in the hospital was done and she was free for the rest of the day. No students to worry about teaching and no patients needing her attention. Life was good.

Shizune knocked on her door and entered. "Tsunade-sama, you shouldn't be drinking in your office!"

"Ah, don't be such a mother hen, Shizune. I earned it. The last patient from the Invasion left the hospital today. Things will be quieter for us now. Only routine ninja injuries and the medics can handle those."

"I have the medical reports on the team Jiraiya-sama plans to send to Cloud for the Chunin Exams. He asked if you could bring them over before heading home."

Tsunade grumbled as she was forced to stop her second favorite habit and took the files from Shizune. She practically stomped over to the Tower like a child and walked into Jiraiya's office without knocking. Jiraiya scrambled to hide his notes and shut off the crystal ball he inherited with the ugly hat.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she waited for Jiraiya to stop scrambling. "Remind me to take that away from you when I go to use the hot springs. If you weren't Hokage, I would be punting you across town right now." Tsunade sighed. "At least you had the door closed and were not out by the springs like you used to be."

Jiraiya chuckled lamely and rubbed the back of his head. "So what brings you by this afternoon, Tsunade-hime?"

She dropped the files on his desk. "Final medical clearances for the teams going to the Chunin Exams in the Cloud. Shizune brought up an interesting point most of us missed. The Cloud had tried to kidnap Hinata when she was 3. I know there is a new Raikage since then and he returned the body of Hyuuga Hizashi intact but I think we should be nervous about it."

Jiraiya smiled, "For once I am ahead of you on this." He pulled out a letter from the daimyo of the Lightning Country. "It seems his son and daughter are going to be on a pilgrimage to visit various religious sites in both the Wave and Fire Countries during the Exams. He did suggest that we provide an 'escort' to accompany the official one his children will be having. The official wording is 'to provide assurance of safety return home in the event of any ill feelings during their journey in the Fire Country.'

"So, he is basically offering his children as hostages if Cloud pulls something."

"Yup, but not officially. We don't deal with hostages but his courier said something about, insuring the peace by putting something of value within our reach while something of value to Konoha was in theirs."

Before either Sannin could say more a seal on the desk flashed red and remained lit for a few seconds before going out once more.

* * *

Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked at Anko. The curse seal on her neck was pulsing between violet and black as it tried to overcome the sealing Jiraiya had made soon after Anko had been recovered after leaving Orochimaru.

"The containment seal around the curse seal is drawing on dangerously high amounts of Anko-sensei's chakra to remain intact," she explained as Anko continued to gasp. "She is draining quickly and will be depleted in minutes. That is why she is having trouble breathing."

"Can't we just destroy it? I mean its just chakra like any other seal isn't it?" Naruto asked.

Iruka looked at Naruto, "It's not that simple, Naruto. We don't know what rupturing it will do to Anko or us if there is a backlash."

Hinata looked up, "But if we do nothing, Anko-sensei will die when she runs out of chakra. If we try something and fail, she will die. But if we try something and succeed, she could live."

Sakura spoke up, "Hinata's Gentle Fist disrupts chakra flow. Could that do something to the curse seal?"

Iruka looked down at Anko. Her movements were slowing as the color began to drain from her face. The purple light coming from the seal on her neck cast a baleful glow.

"I'll hold her still, Hinata. Do it," Iruka said.

Hinata nodded once and focused chakra into the first two fingers of her right hand and struck the seal.

Purple chakra lightning arced out of the seal and pushed Hinata's hand back after it struck. Iruka screamed as the lightning ran over both his and Anko's bodies. The curse mark slowed its pulsing for a moment before resuming at the original pace.

Hinata stared at the seal probing as hard as she could with her eyes. "It was not enough. I can see that I disrupted it slightly, but my chakra is not potent enough to rupture it completely."

Naruto muttered, "More potent chakra." He looked at Hinata then at Sakura. He would be forced to let Sakura know about his burden to do this.

"I think I can get you some more potent chakra, Hinata-chan. From It."

Sakura was puzzled, "It? What It?"

Naruto looked down and couldn't meet Sakura's eyes, "From the demon I have trapped inside of me."

Sakura was about to ask more questions when Hinata touched her arm.

"Please Sakura. Ask later, we are running out of time. Anko-sensei is running out of time," Hinata said.

Sakura just nodded as Naruto sat down in a meditation pose. He had done this before but he would always stop himself before going that far down into his mind; where the Kyuubi lay trapped.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to the dim red light of his mindscape. The cage rose up into darkness before him with the paper reading 'Seal' holding the gates closed.

"**Ah, my jailor returns."**

"I need some of your chakra, Kitsune."

"**No."**

"I need it to save my teacher."

**"Still No."**

"Don't you even care?"

"**Not really. Helping your teacher provides no benefit to me."**

"But she'll die!"

"**Yeah? And?"**

Naruto was getting angry at the Kyuubi's outright refusal to help. He saw the blue glow of the bars lessen slightly and the water he was standing in get darker. 'I need to avoid getting angry. Jiraiya-sensei said that give the Kitsune some power over me as its chakra mixes into me. So if I get angry but remain in control of myself, I should be able to get some chakra and use it.'

Naruto looked at the cage once more and thought back. He remembered Hinata get struck down by the senbon. He remembered Sakura get struck down by Sasuke. He recalled his rage at those events and the feeling of him simply pulling chakra out of the seal. But this time he kept himself under control and saw what he had done on instinct. Now he did it deliberately, with a strict focus on drawing the chakra without letting the Kyuubi influence him at the same time. The meditations Jiraiya and Tsunade had made him do helped him keep his focus and he felt the chakra move.

* * *

Naruto's eyes flew open. The normal pools of blue were a bright purple and had slits within them. Sakura leaned away in fear and Iruka paled at seeing him like that. Naruto moved his hands into the sign of the ram.

"_Hinata, I need your help. I have to focus this red chakra to my fingers. Please tell me when I gather it there,_" Naruto said in an altered voice.

Naruto broke out into a sweat as he spent the next few seconds trying to draw the red chakra to his fingers.

"It's moving, Naruto. There is a large amount gathering in your fingers now," Hinata said. The red chakra hurt her eyes to be staring at it. The amount increased slowly as Iruka moved Anko closer to Naruto. She was gasping harder as her eyes were clenched shut.

"_I am going to lose control of this soon. Is it enough Hinata?_" Naruto asked.

"It should be, Naruto. Most of the red chakra in your body is in your hands now."

Naruto slowly turned his hands while keeping the hand sign intact so that his fingers were pointing away from his body and touched them to the seal on Anko's neck. Once he made contact, he pushed the red chakra out of his hands and into the cursed seal.

The light from the seal began pulsing faster as the red chakra invaded it. The black tome marks began to dissolve under the effects of the red chakra as Naruto fell back passed out from his effort. Hinata focused her Byakugan on the seal once more as the tome marks were slowly consumed. But the caustic red chakra continued to eat at the blue chakra containment seal. Hinata's fingers flashed down once more and jabbed. The red chakra exploded out and took the form of a fox head before dispersing.

Anko fell still and began to breathe much easier as the containment seal was no longer drawing in her chakra. Iruka sat with her head on his lap as Sakura pulled Anko's shirt back down over her body. 'No sense in giving everyone a free show,' Sakura thought. 'Anko-sensei isn't awake to see them drool.'

* * *

Orochimaru flinched as he felt one of his curse seals stop. The small bit of his own life force within it was extinguished. 'Anko-chan. A pity you did not survive.'

* * *

Sasuke cried out in his sleep. His seal throbbed for a reason he didn't understand. He felt somehow diminished. 'I need to get out of here. I'm getting weaker.'

* * *

The police took the five ninja to the station for statements. They had broken a slavery ring that had taken several dozen female runaways and tourists over the past year. Word of it had been suppressed to avoid hurting tourism because they had no actual proof of its existence. The drink vendor was the piece they were missing when they would send out undercover agents to find them. The man would be able to decide who got taken and who didn't. If a person seemed too observant or suspicious, the target was not given a drugged drink. This allowed the boys out looking to not get caught as more than guys hitting on the girls.

Anko had not woken up yet. Once Sakura was able to use her chakra, a few mystic palm passes confirmed she was simply chakra exhausted. The police involvement had let Sakura off the hook for falling for the trap. Iruka was upset but when he talked to her, he saw the mark of a professional and talented organization behind it. He wrote down a few notes to submit to Konoha's list of items to use on missions.

Naruto kept to himself the whole time and spoke as little as possible. Hinata just sat with him and gave him quiet encouragement.

When the police got word from the capital, the group was allowed to leave. The Daimyo's seal on a message was enough to let the ninja go. They were 'requested' to stop in the capital on their way back to Konoha.

* * *

Once Anko had woken up, the real explaining began. She vanished into the bathroom for about a half hour before returning to get a full explanation from each perspective. The oppressive taint she had felt in her mind since her pre-teen years was gone. The only sign of the curse seal was a discolored patch of skin that looked like a tattoo had been there and later removed.

After she had everything written down, she made Naruto summon a toad to carry the written out information to Jiraiya. She did not want to summon snakes just yet. It would take the toad over a day to make the trip to Konoha so they had at least two before they could be recalled if that was what Jiraiya decided. This gave the team a chance to discuss the issue that Sakura was pushing them to finish telling her about.

Naruto looked nothing like himself as Sakura sat on the couch in the suite. She listened as he told her about how the village lied on what happened the day he was born. The fact that the Yondaime had sealed the Kyuubi into the newborn Naruto instead of killing it was difficult for Sakura to accept. She had seen the chakra so she knew it was true. She was having trouble reconciling the fact that Naruto was the jailor of the most powerful demon in history. It took Hinata pulling out the scroll containing all of their ninja gear to finally get the point across to the pink haired girl. Ninja sealed may things inside of scrolls and other objects. The demon was simply one more. Gaara and that woman from Cloud were the same way as Naruto but their demons were less well sealed.

"As near as I can tell, it is sleeping inside of me most of the time. That is why I am not always fighting with it. I have talked to it once on purpose and a few times when I didn't want to. When I got burnt, I saw it for the first time. It was because of the Kyuubi that I healed so well from the burns. The same with my legs. The chakra that seeps through the seal supercharges my own naturally accelerated healing."

"Some private talks I have had with Jiraiya-sensei about it make us think if my life was in mortal danger it would act to prevent my dying to save itself. All it wants is from me to release it. Jiraiya-sensei figures the 'cage' itself was constructed inside my soul by the death god's seal and that my chakra keeps it closed."

"The seal 'cage' is buried so far down in my subconscious that I needed to be in a coma to see it the first time. Later on, I was able to reach the chakra when I thought Hinata got killed and again when I thought you did, Sakura. This time I was able to use the meditation Jiraiya-sensei and Tsunade-sensei had us learn to reach it. I figure with enough practice I could speak to it more often but I don't want to. It's a not a kind creature. It refused to let me free access to its chakra to help Anko-sensei."

"I don't want to use its power unless I have no other choice. It's evil. It makes Hebi-teme look like baby evil. I have been thinking about it. It took all I had to pull out the chakra I used to help Anko-sensei. The amount of power I used was so small compared to what was there. Think of a mountain. I managed to move one grain of sand of that mountain. The rest of it is still there, not moved."

Both Sakura and Hinata shuddered at Naruto's comparison.

Anko got tired of waiting for the toad to return. "That critter is going to return to where Naruto is, so how about we go spend a few hours at the beach waiting. Jiraiya is likely going to order us home so we might as well get in some vacation while we can. No wandering off with anyone. Got it, Pinkie?"

The group spent the day playing in the water and beach. Hinata and Naruto spent a lot of time holding hands while Anko teased Iruka to several nosebleeds. Sakura remained close by to keep the poor teacher from passing out too often from blood loss.

That night, Anko strolled into the boy's room and kicked out Naruto. He spent the night on the couch hearing a lot of noise from the bedroom and muttering to himself, "I am not a pervert, I am not a pervert."

His dreams however were disturbing. In them he dreamed of having the choice of giving Hinata a kiss or having all the ramen he could eat. His dream ended when he woke up before he could decide. For some reason the last thing from his dream he remembered was the taste of peppermint on his lips. The toad messenger was waiting outside and he did have a message for them to return to Konoha as soon as possible after their stop at the Daimyo.

* * *

The team left the resort in full gear and rapidly made their way back toward the capital and Konoha. The Daimyo was happy to see them and only made them wait for a half hour as he cleared his schedule. The man was happy that the team had flushed out the traitor Sannin and exposed a slavery ring. The men involved had given a lot of information to save their own necks and several layers of the organized crime ring had been captured. A number of police in the resort town had been implicated and would be charged as well. The Daimyo himself presented a reward to the team, Anko, and Iruka. Konoha would be getting something later on but this reward was for them personally. He also wished them luck in the Chunin Exams in Cloud.

Hinata had a mild panic attack hearing that but the Daimyo reassured her that the daimyo of Lightning personally guaranteed her safety by sending his own children on a 'pilgrimage' to various shrine in the Wave and Fire Countries. Even Cloud would not risk a war over a single girl this time.

The rest of the trip back to Konoha was boring. The group tree ran at their best pace. Anko was reveling in the fact she did not have to worry about control for once in her life. She would continue her normal self control once they returned but this time it would be from choice, not from need.

* * *

Jiraiya looked as the team stood in the office. "I wish I was able to let your vacation go longer but you running into Orochimaru was too much. You will get the last week of it as time off inside the village. We do need to talk about what you did with Anko's curse seal. No one had considered that method of removal for it. It was an inspired bit of thinking."

"More like desperate thinking. If we did nothing, Anko-sensei would have died. We got lucky we didn't kill her ourselves with what we did," Hinata told him.

Jiraiya nodded. "But it did work for her. Unfortunately, we asked Hiashi to look over Sasuke's seal. It is amuch more powerful seal but it was also active in his system before being locked away. There are traces of the seal's chakra in most of his body so even if we remove the main seal itself, the poisoned chakra would remain behind."

All the genin looked a bit saddened at that news but accepted it with a nod.

Jiraiya continued, "Sakura, the information about Naruto keeping the Kyuubi contained is a Class S secret. You cannot tell anyone about it."

Sakura nodded, "I understand."

"Are you okay with the situation?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Naruto is too much of a goofball to be a killer demon." At her comment everyone nodded while Naruto fumed and grumped. He relaxed when Hinata squeezed his hand.

Sakura told Jiraiya what Orochimaru had said regarding Sasuke. Jiraiya merely nodded and told everyone that Sasuke would not be going anywhere. He was not cooperating with the wardens and showed no improvement mentally. Jiraiya dismissed the group but Naruto asked for a few minutes in private now that all the business was taken care of.

"Jiraiya-sensei, you know how the Old Man was helping me with my money?"

Jiraiya nodded, "You mentioned it once."

"Well, I just wanted to ask if you could help me with it now. The lawyer told me how much I got from the Old Man's will. I own my apartment building, one other building that makes rental income and I wanted to invest it in a few other places. I also got the reward from the Daimyo on our short vacation. I know what I want to do with it, but some of the people involved are civilians and don't see me favorably."

"What did you want to do with it, Naruto?"

"I want to buy some land so that I can start my own family someday."

* * *

Next Chapter: On the Road to Lightning

* * *

**End Notes:**

The whole run in with Orochimaru was not so much a full out thing as it was a chance encounter while he was scouting out new sources of test subjects since Sound was destroyed 'off camera' when it was weakened. But Anko is freed from the last remnant Orochimaru had hanging over her. I only have one last thing to say on that, Poor Iruka.

Naruto and Hinata are 'together' but not to the point of declaring status of boyfriend/girlfriend out loud. Both still retain that shyness that makes up a large part of their true personalities, as both are still uncomfortable and only just 13 years old.

Sakura knows about the Kyuubi inside Naruto now but I did not waste a lot of time on that point. She has become a true friend to Naruto and Hinata since Academy days and will not hesitate to tell Naruto when he is being stupid on something but she does not hit him like she does in canon and in many stories. She has also developed a playful side and her 'inner self' has little reason for conflicting with her maturing personality since she does not hide who she is to gain the attention of Sasuke as in canon.

My Cloud version of the Chunin Exams will be something totally original for people, I hope. I am cutting out a lot of the Naruto filler episodes since most of them were lame or centered around trying to find out how to get Sasuke back

**Review Notes:**

I truly appreciate the reviews. A few people comparing my character development to canon but I have beaten that horse to paste with explanations over the past year.

My other stories have gotten some really constructive ones recently that made me rethink a few plot points and made me go back and re-read my story here from the beginning. I noticed a lot of places I could use some serious editing as far as grammar and such but as far as storyline content I remain pleased. My story remains character driven more than action driven but there will be more action coming up as new tests await the team

**Stats on this story:**

I am amazed at what this story has generated. I checked just before posting this chapter.  
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I thank everyone who has looked at my efforts and I am grateful that so many enjoy it.


	31. The Road to Lightning

**On The Road to Lightning**

Naruto stood waiting while the enemies closed in on him. He held his defensive stance until they group was almost upon him before he moved. His lessons in proper technique showed as he effortlessly struck at the lead attacker. A quick punch to the stomach bent the attacker over as Naruto sidestepped the falling opponent. His motion brought him into kunai range of the man defending the first's flank.

Naruto parried the blade and followed with a kick to the man's knee to bend it sideways with severe ligament damage. The blonde pulled back his foot in time to keep the collapsing man from trapping it as he fell.

Naruto spun to his side and axe kicked the first opponent on the back of his head as he attempted to rise. The dull thud of the man hitting the ground was barely heard as Naruto looked for his next opponent.

The third man was a swordsman who held his sword in a two handed grip. Naruto jumped back in time to avoid getting cut by the blade. Naruto took up a new defensive stance and pulled out dual tonfa from a storage seal on his belt. He held them with the long shaft against the outside of his forearms as the swordsman swing again.

Naruto blocked one strike from the sword while he tried to strike back but the swordsman was barely out of his reach while he kept the free tonfa in a guard position. The swordsman stepped back from his blow and swung again with a horizontal strike. Naruto went to block the blow only to find it had been a feint and he had left himself open as the swordsman spun around a fallen comrade to get behind Naruto.

Naruto dove forward to the ground and rolled off his shoulder back to his feet several paces away as he avoided an attack on his back. He was facing his opponent again but his back was to more attackers following the original three. He twisted the tonfa in his grip and extended the shaft outward as he twirled once to clear his immediate area. Several opponents took blows or dodged as he spun.

The spin ended with him facing the swordsman. Naruto rushed the opponent swinging first one arm then the other while advancing almost back to his original position. With a series of attacks to one side, he worked around the swordsman to have his back away from all of his enemies. He spun his left tonfa back into a guard position and stepped closer to the swordsman, goading the man into an attack. As Naruto expected, the attack came from his left. He parried the blow against his arm and struck the swordsman on the left bicep close to the elbow. The sound of the humerus snapping under the impact was followed by the sound of the sword hitting the ground.

Naruto stepped back as the sounds of battle faded around him. Hinata stepped into his view from one side and soon Sakura appeared on the other side. The few men standing had grouped together to make a final stand. Naruto kicked the sword away from the man who had wielded it. Sakura picked it up and looked it over before simply breaking it in her gloved hands

"Oops," she said in a cute voice. "I am soooo clumsy."

The men balked at seeing a barely teenage girl just snap steel and quickly surrendered. Naruto tossed one man some short lengths of rope and had him bind his fellow bandits. Once that was done, Hinata moved in and touched a point on each man's neck and they collapsed.

"Scratch one bandit encampment," Naruto said with a smile. "Only trouble is, how do we get them back to town?"

* * *

Anko had stood back from the fight to observe the team in action. The simple C ranked mission against a camp of bandits was a good exercise for them on the verge of departing for the Chunin Exams in Cloud. She had let them do everything as if they had been a team of chunin. From the moment they had left Konoha, she had not said a word. All she had done was trail along and munch on sticks of dango. The only thing she had said to them at all was order one of them to buy her fresh dango as they passed a town. They had planned out the scouting and attack on the camp on their own.

Naruto had gone in first to get their attention while Hinata freed the hostage. Sakura moved in from the other side of the camp to club bandits unconscious from behind with controlled blows to the head. The entire fight from the moment Naruto had entered the camp had been under one minute. Anko was impressed but would never say that without a few drinks first.

If she had been a part of the mission, she would be tempted to summon a large snake. But that would alert Orochimaru to her continued existence. He would find out if he opened the snake summoning scroll but that was not likely to happen any time soon. Instead she just sat back and munched. They had to figure something out on their own.

"A nice sized wagon should be able to carry all of these bandits," Sakura suggested.

Hinata looked around the camp. "Several would be better. These bandits seem to have been good at what they did. They do have some smaller wagons here in camp so we can get the valuable items sorted and loaded by the time someone can run to town and return with the needed transportation and guards."

"I can get on with the sorting and early loading," Naruto said. "A lot of their goods look like trash but I think the nearby village should get whatever is left that we can't return. It would make a nice statement if we tell them it is for their benefit from the Hokage and the Daimyo."

The girls agreed as Naruto sent a trio of shadow clones to the nearby village to borrow a large wagon and some villagers to act as guards and salvagers.

* * *

Jiraiya looked over the four mission reports. Each genin had written a report for the mission and so had Anko as observer. He had made the team wait until this was his last business of the day to go over everything and give his critique of their skills on the reports.

"Hinata, a nice concise report. It tells about fulfilling the mission objectives, how many bandits captured and what was returned to the caravan. A note about informing the Daimyo about the village being given supplies in his name is a good idea."

"Sakura, your report is concise as well. Same basic information as Hinata presented. No mention about what you did with the camp remains but noting that the local village aided in transporting the bandits into custody was intelligent."

"Naruto, your report was clear but not quite as concise as the others. Detailing your team's movements is good for using this mission as a tactical exercise in the future but not needed for a mission report. I understand your previous report writing for Sarutobi needed to be like this because you used it as a briefing material for clan heads. For that purpose this kind of report is excellent. For simple reporting to be filed, such detail is not needed."

Jiraiya showed them Anko's report. It mentioned everything but fell somewhere in the middle of what the team had done. It mentioned all aspects in general, what was done by each team member, what was returned, what was given to the village and that it was done in the Hokage's and Daimyo's names.

"I would give you all a well above passing grade on this if it were a test. Even the reports were correct and with the minor items I pointed out corrected; any of those reports suitable for record keeping. Anko, any comments?" Jiraiya asked.

Anko shook her head, "Nothing major that some training would not fix. Beginning to end, these three handled it like chunin would have. They get my okay to go to the Cloud."

Jiraiya looked out the window at the sunset. "Then let's get out of here and off to dinner. You three leave tomorrow for Cloud with Tsunade.

The team walked out of the Tower together. "When did you start learning to fight with tonfa, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"A few weeks ago. Jiraiya-sensei felt that I should have a non-standard weapon skill. I'll need to know more to make jonin but starting sooner helps. Tonfa are simple to use but difficult to master. Since I already have the strength and motor skills to wield them already all that I needed was the experience at it. With my work ethic and my skill with shadow clones, I could learn the attacks and defensive moves with more experience in a few weekly sessions than most people training can get in a year. Nothing like remembering your mistakes intimately from a shadow clone getting hit by one then a minute later remembering how you hit yourself with one."

All three laughed at Naruto's joke. The girls realized they should expand their weapon skills in the future as well. Basic kunai, senbon and shuriken would be enough to make chunin but if they ever wanted jonin rank, more was needed.

One benefit of their team format was that they were treated more in accordance with their skill level rather than their official ranks. Jiraiya, Anko and Tsunade all treated them as low-level chunin rather than as students and genin with less than a year's experiences. They took into account Naruto and Hinata's time as pranksters and Sakura had quickly caught up to them with her intelligence and chakra control. The largest weakness they had as a group was that they lacked the field experience some of the other teams had gathered.

* * *

The teams leaving for the Chunin Exams were gathered near the new northeastern gate. A road had been carved out of the forest to provide wood for new construction and to make a path to the nearest major road in that direction. New camouflaged watchtowers stood at suitable points along the road as early warning stations. Ten teams plus jonin sensei were going along with a cook wagon and supply wagon. Tsunade led the caravan personally and as the jonin sensei for Team Apprentice. The total trip time to Cloud would be ten days with two days leeway before the Exams began.

Team Apprentice had no duties on the first day out of Konoha so they spent their time walking along near the wagons. The slow pace grated on Naruto so he unsealed his tonfa and did kata as he walked. Hinata smiled at him as he worked. Tsunade walked around to their side of the wagon and watched for about a half hour before speaking to them. "Naruto, why now show Hinata the basic moves with those? She might do well with a basic knowledge of them. They would also extend her reach. Some opponents like swordsmen keep at longer than an arms length distance." Naruto smiled and unsealed a second pair for Hinata and a third for Sakura. He then spent the rest of the day showing and correcting the basic movements and counters. Since they could easily keep pace with the wagons, they were able to stop more than once for a quick no contact spar between the girls. Naruto was impressed with the speed the girls showed in learning. Both complimented his teaching ability. By the end of the day, all three had learned something about the weapons and Naruto insisted the girls keep the tonfa he had leant them as he had more.

The second day of the trip, the team was on duty. They were assigned to the left flank patrol about a half mile off the road. They spent their time tree hopping and checking out anything they found that might be a security risk. Several abandoned loggers cabins had been checked out but nothing worthwhile had been found in their area of responsibility. Having guard duty that night as a team for 3 hours finished their day.

The third day went much like the first. The team work on tonfa training as they walked. Hinata seemed to do best as she was more used to controlling her movements more exactly due to her Flowing Fist variant of Gentle Fist.

She and Anko had finally settled on the official name for Hinata's variant and recorded the basic movements for the Hyuuga clan archives. Hiashi and the remaining clan elders had been pleased. The severe reduction in the Hyuuga had given them cause to record some aspects of their style for the first time. Hiashi also took the drastic step of forbidding further use of the Caged Bird Seal on Branch members. He formally petitioned Jiraiya as the only seal master in Konoha to look into finding an alternate means to protect the Hyuuga bloodline.

Now Hinata was doing something else past what any Hyuuga had done in living memory. Learning a fighting technique that did not require their bloodline to use. Hinata however decided to make the skill into something else that might benefit her clan in the future. She activated her Byakugan while fighting with her tonfa and was defending against both Sakura and Naruto from opposite sides. The largest surprise of the day came when Hinata gave Naruto a chakra shock when she scored a light hit on him. She had without thinking about it channeled chakra through her tonfa. The team put their ideas together and realized this could be a benefit if Hinata could become precise enough to hit tenketsu points with tonfa tips instead of her fingertips and close them down. Tsunade agreed that this idea had merit and wrote it down for further consideration.

* * *

The days continued to pass. Day Four was on duty again, this time to the right flank. Day Five was a day off. Day Six as the forward scouting party. They passed into Lightning Country near the end of the day and the groups were called in to only a fifty yard perimeter. The forest gave way to open areas of waist high brush with copses of trees. Squads of Cloud ninja led and trailed the group with a single team walking with the wagons. Tsunade ordered all Leaf ninja that no training be done until after reaching Cloud village.

Day Seven dawned rainy. The Cloud ninja were used to the rain and paid it no heed. The Leaf ninja grumbled but were glad for the cook wagon and being able to get a hot meal at lunch. The Cloud ninja all looked longingly at the wagon but ate their cold rations in silence. The first sign of trouble came when the left flank reported movement that their Cloud escorts said was not their people.

Dozens of ninja wearing slashed Sound headbands fell upon the left flank. The Cloud ninja who traveled out further out were overwhelmed and went down. Tsunade took charge of things quickly. She turned to the Cloud team in with the wagons, "Order your people away from those Sound ninja. If they are after us, they will leave yours alone. If they are after you, your people can form up on the far side with us between you and them." The Cloud leader nodded in agreement and called for his remaining squad on the left to retreat. They were only a genin escort, not meant to fight a war.

Tsunade then turned to the Leaf ninja, "NARUTO! CLONE WAVE LEFT!"

Naruto heard the shouted order and grinned. He was getting to show off. A hand sign and seconds later, more than one hundred shadow clones raced to meet the incoming Sound ninja with kunai and tonfa. The hoard of Naruto met the Sound ninja and many vanished in puffs of smoke.

Naruto flinched as the memories flooded in on him, "These guys are good, Tsunade-sensei. All the enemy that my clones engaged are chunin level or better. Five clones bypassed the incoming ninja and went past to check for survivors in that Cloud patrol further out. One clone self dispelled. Two Cloud dead, two alive but badly wounded and being evac'ed north" Naruto paused and he thought, "I count 37 still incoming but fighting right now, 5 chunin enemy level down already."

Naruto flinched again as a large group of clones and the entire left flank patrol vanished under a massive fireball, "That one was a jonin, really strong one too." The enemy had closed to twenty five yards out when Tsunade yelled out more orders, "Teams form up on your senseis. Naruto I need another clone wave out of you. Dog pile the jonin if you have to. These are fanatics and you are going to have to kill some of them." Naruto nodded slowly and made the clones. He had killed once before but it had been an accident. This time he was sending clones to do nothing less. The second wave of Narutos swarmed out.

* * *

This time the clones hit the incoming enemy alongside the other teams. Chunin level ninja fell quickly as the clones distracted and overwhelmed enemy and the jonin teachers entered the close battles.

One Sound ninja swung a melody arm which dispelled a half dozen clones only to fall to a kunai to the back of his head from a 16 yr old Leaf genin.

A team of 14 yr old Leaf genin fell to a Sound jonin before their teacher avenged them killing the Sound jonin. Two Sound chunin wounded the jonin before they died. One more Sound chunin stabbed the jonin in the back before dying under the kunai of several Naruto clones. The clones then dragged the wounded jonin out of the battle.

Sakura yelled "Shockwave" and punched the ground hard. Leaf ninja all jumped as the wave passed but not all the Sound ninja were lucky enough to. More then a dozen were killed on the ground, two of them jonin level. Hinata engaged sound ninja that made it out of the brush to the road. She gave no warning and attacked like she had when she had been attacked years before. Four Sound ninja fell under her hands.

The Cloud leader had not been quiet. He had turned when he saw the Sound were after the Leaf party. He had his ninja move to flank the Sound ninja. Cries came from the ends of the battle as the Cloud ninja fell upon the Sound. Several Sound ninja tried to break away but within minutes, the entire attack force had been killed.

Naruto clones pulled Leaf wounded back to the wagons and the clones that left north returned with the pair of wounded Cloud ninja. Tsunade, Sakura and the few jonin who knew healing jutsu set to work on the worst of life threatening wounds. Those that did not bandaged up the wounds of their teammates and recovered the bodies of fallen Leaf ninja. The Cloud recovered the bodies of their two fallen as well. The heads of all the Sound ninja were removed, sealed into scrolls and the bodies burnt. The Sound headbands were collected and brought along with the group.

Only one more died once the battle was over because she bled out due to a sliced artery before Tsunade could stop the bleeding. She fought back her hemophobia well enough to do her work and remain focused.

Naruto kept moving around in a daze until Tsunade noticed and made him sit down. Once he sat, he just lowered his head and sat there. Tsunade sighed, as she knew the price he was paying for the shadow clone technique. In order to make the second wave of clones combat capable, he had to add more chakra into them. These clones had been more self-aware and the memories hit Naruto much harder than normal clones he used. Dying violently eighty times in less than five minutes took its toll on even the most resilient mind. She sent Hinata over to sit with him until he looked up.

"How do you do it, Hinata? How do you cope knowing that you killed someone?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Hinata took his hand, "The first time I killed I was defending my Father and Sister. That is how I was able to deal with it. After that, I knew I could kill. I learned to become Rabbit when I have to do something like that. I do it because I need to defend not just my friends and precious ones but I must defend myself as well."

"Seventeen. My second wave of clones killed seventeen of them, Hinata."

Hinata leaned close and kissed Naruto softly on the cheek and whispered to him, "If you had not, they would have killed everyone here; Sakura, Tsunade, me and everyone else. You killed them to protect us all, Naruto. Thank you."

Naruto just nodded but didn't smile or blush at the kiss.

The Cloud leader glanced over then to Tsunade, "His first kill huh?"

Tsunade just nodded, "And dying however many times those clones of his got killed. I don't envy the nightmares he is going to have over that."

The Cloud replied, "I had heard stories of that technique. It is very powerful but now I understand why it isn't used if it can be like that on the user."

Konoha lost 3 jonin and 11 of the genin in the attack. Tsunade kept the group at the battle site the rest of the day. They got permission to gather rocks to build a small cairn. The jonin who knew cremation jutsu burnt the bodies of their fallen and left half of each ones ashes in the cairn and sealed the remainder to bring back to Konoha. They waited and laid the final stone at sunset. Tsunade then had the party move on for an hour in the last of the fading light before camping for the night.

Naruto tried to go on his assigned duty that night but most of the other genin volunteered to take his place. Tsunade convinced him to do so and Naruto eventually got to sleep.

* * *

"**Wasn't that fun, boy?"** the Kyuubi roared out into his dreams.

"Shut up, baka Kitsune," Naruto muttered in his dreams but the Kyuubi only laughed and taunted Naruto by flashing the faces of the dead Sound ninja each time he slept.

* * *

Hinata woke as Naruto awoke screaming for the sixth time that night. She moved over to Naruto and lay next to him as he panicked.

"Shhh, its only a dream, Naruto," she said as she stroked his forehead. She calmed him down and held his head on her shoulder until he fell asleep. After that, Naruto managed to sleep the rest of the night without nightmares.

* * *

Naruto was better in the morning but no one would let him do anything until he complained to Tsunade he needed something to occupy his mind.

Shortly before noon, four squads of jonin arrived to escort the Leaf ninja the rest of the way into Cloud. The last two days of the trip passed uneventfully.

By the time the teams reached the Cloud village, Tsunade and the jonin had reorganized the genin who lost team members and could field five teams, counting Team Apprentice. Four genin remained too rattled to compete.

The Cloud village peeked out above the cloud layer on a high mountain plateau. The defensive wall most villages had was much smaller here. The high altitude was giving a few of the Leaf ninja a tough time but they felt well enough to compete. They were surprised when the Raikage himself came to the gate to welcome them.

"Welcome, Leaf ninja," he proclaimed. "I apologize for the trouble that has befallen your group within our borders."

"Do not worry, Raikage-dono," Tsunade replied. "The bandits who did so paid for it with their lives."

"Remnants of the Sound still loyal to that Orochimaru. He raided villages within this country to feed his forces before our border patrols stopped that. He took many families to their deaths against Konoha."

Tsunade nodded but replied, "That was not your country's fault. The processes of an evil man are never to be understood."

"My guides told me of one genin who did the bulk of the work; your own student Uzumaki Naruto. I had thought he had been made a chunin after the voting in the last exams."

"In the confusion after the Third's death, some conspired to deny his promotion under a flimsy excuse. To prove his worth, we have brought him here to show that he is capable."

"Tsunade, I promise you this, if he gets through the first two parts of our Exam, he will have earned his promotion, no matter how he fares in the Finals. But, I have something else to speak to this Uzumaki Naruto about. Will you bring him to a meeting with me over dinner tonight?"

Tsunade replied, "Thank you, I accept and I shall bring him as well."

* * *

Naruto was nervous as he sat in a formal kimono in the large dining room with Tsunade and the Raikage. He had no clue why he had been asked to come along, only that he was there. He kept on using every polite manner that the Old Man had forced him to learn. He ate slow and with care not to stain his outfit. He only spoke when spoken to and answered using proper titles to both the Raikage and Tsunade. After the overall toughest dinner of his life, the Raikage finally got to the point of his invitation.

"Naruto-san, I know you are interested in knowing why I invited you here tonight. First, I must say I enjoyed you match against the Uchiha in Konoha 5 months ago."

"Thank you Raikage-sama, I did my best. He was a difficult opponent. If it had not been interrupted I am fairly certain I would have defeated him," Naruto said in a soft controlled voice.

"I think you had him beaten before he even stepped into the match based on your preparations. I enjoyed myself seeing him battle you. What was it that you knew that had you so prepared?"

"His ego outweighed his ability."

Tsunade chuckled at that response and added in, "By about a ton or two."

"Tell me Naruto-san, do you know anything of your family name?"

Tsunade spoke up before Naruto could, "He knows nothing of his heritage, Raikage-dono. His mother was an Uzumaki but she was not married when he was born. If his father had survived the Kyuubi attack I am sure his father would have acknowledge the boy, but as that is unknown and unrecorded, he bears his mother's name."

"My mom?" Naruto said in a small voice. "You knew who she was?"

"Yes, Naruto. I found it in the medical files after I took over in Konoha. The Third had ordered them sealed to protect both you and the identity of your father. His name was not in the file but the Third made a note that he did know your father's name. I have an idea of who he is but without seeing proof, I cannot speculate in public."

"Can you tell me _anything_ about her?" Naruto pleaded.

"Her name was Kushina. She was a refugee from the Land of Whirlpool and came to Konoha during a war in which it was destroyed by the Land of Water and made a part of Water. She eventually became a ninja in Konoha and she died the night of the Kyuubi attack, the day you were born."

"I never was told any of that," Naruto said quietly.

"Naruto-san, I must admit, seeing you at that tournament was no the first time I have seen an Uzumaki first. 25 years ago, I was a young genin accompanying a force of ninja to the southern part of our lands. Some refugees from Whirlpool had come to Lightning Country as well. A half dozen ninja named Uzumaki were among them. Most of the people accepted the rule of our Daimyo and those people with ninja ability joined Cloud. But not the Uzumaki. They resisted my predecessor. He ordered them killed. It took the lives of 26 jonin to kill that half dozen ninja. I was there as my sensei was one of those jonin."

Naruto panicked, "I didn't do any of that, I wasn't even born yet!"

The Raikage smiled, "I am not doing this for revenge, Naruto-san. Those ninja impressed even me at my young age. They were very good. Once my sensei was down, they did not attack him. My sensei was merely defeated by them. He lost his life to my predecessor who ordered a wide area lightning strike on the battlefield. It was on that day; for that reason and one other; I vowed to destroy that man. Once the deed was done, we gathered up all the records the Uzumaki had to see what jutsu could be gathered from them. In their possession were three scrolls with blood seals on them. With no living Uzumaki to provide blood, no one in Cloud could open them. The blood of every remaining Whirlpool refugee was tried. They have remained in our library to this day."

The Raikage gestured and a guard brought in three scrolls with a symbol that was familiar to Naruto.

"That's the same symbol on my jacket! The one that the Old Man gave me to wear on my sleeve when I was a kid!" he said to Tsunade.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I will give these scrolls to you under two conditions. The first condition, of course, you must be able to open them. The second condition is that you allow us to copy any jutsu written upon them."

* * *

Next Chapter: Tests and Decisions

* * *

**End Notes:** I have been a busy, busy writer lately. With this chapter, I have posted some 26,000 words in the past 8 days on my 4 active stories. I have another 8,000 to 10,000 or so in the process of editing. I have been lucky to be over my blocks on all my stories at once. I hope it continues to last.

I am taking a chance here with by creating some mythical back-story for Uzumaki. I figure that some more besides Kushina would have gotten out of Whirlpool were a large family or clan. I know in a different story I made Kushina into a princess and such but each story is a different AU. **There will be no bloodline or anything special about Naruto being added because of the scrolls.**

**Review Notes:** The method of curse seal removal I did mention would not work on Sasuke since he used the thing. Anko had not and it was inactive and contained. Once the Kyuubi chakra destroyed the thing, Hinata was able to pop it like a zit.

The bit with Koharu and Homura acting against Naruto was done when there was no Hokage to stop them. As I wrote, if Jiraiya had shot them down, they had set it up to look like Jiraiya was playing favorites for Naruto.


	32. Tests and Decisions

**Tests and Decisions**

_The Raikage gestured and a guard brought in three scrolls with a symbol that was familiar to Naruto._

"_That's the same symbol on my jacket! The one that the Old Man gave me to wear on my sleeve when I was a kid!" he said to Tsunade._

"_Uzumaki Naruto, I will give these scrolls to you under two conditions. The first condition, of course, you must be able to open them. The second condition is that you allow us to copy any jutsu written upon them."_

* * *

Tsunade bristled at the Raikage's suggestion. "Clan scrolls are considered sacrosanct. Using them as a bargaining chip like this is inexcusable. If they do belong to an Uzumaki clan, then they are his property by right."

The Raikage just looked levelly at Tsunade. "They are also property of my village by conquest. That too is a recognized right. As he said before, he was not born when they came into our possession. It was within our right then and now to destroy them. We kept them safe for a quarter century. That entitles us to some kind of fee for allowing him to have them."

Naruto sat silently as thoughts raged in his head. He had a family with a past. Living as an orphan for so long he never thought about it much beyond wishing for parents or maybe a sibling. Now he was being told that he was a descendant of something larger than that. The scrolls could be powerful jutsu, family techniques like the Nara or Akimichi had. The other side also applied. They could simply be a list of ancestors, nothing of value to anyone not an Uzumaki. One last option remained. They could possibly not even be related to him.

In spite of what he wanted, he knew the right answer here. He recalled the last thing he had asked Jiraiya before leaving Konoha. Naruto wanted to have a place to call his own, that perhaps he could have a family one day. Now, he was faced with having one that was lost to him before he was even conceived given back to him. But the price involved was very high; give up the secrets that his possible ancestors had gathered. He took a deep breath and looked up as Tsunade and the Raikage debated.

"Destroy them then," he said in a soft voice.

Both Tsunade and the Raikage went silent in shock after he spoke.

"Please, just destroy them," Naruto said in a stronger voice. "I am no better or worse off than I was when I walked into the room except for maybe a few doubts. The same for you Raikage-sama. All you are out is 3 scrolls that you cannot use that were gathering dust in your archives. Something like that is not even worth keeping."

The Raikage smiled and rubbed his chin, "Then destroy them if you can. I will allow it." The Raikage pointed at the scrolls. "Do you wish to test the blood seals first?"

Naruto shook his head no. "I just need a place I can destroy them at. The wood floor here would be ruined if I did it here."

The Raikage gestured to a servant who carried the scrolls to the courtyard and set them on the flagstones. Naruto stood over them looking down. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before raising his palm. Chakra formed and began swirling. The low hum growing as it formed a ball within his grasp. He recalled Jiraiya's lessons on blood seals. Destroy the seal and the chakra in it destroys the writing on the scroll.

He opened his eyes and focused on the scrolls lined up at his feet, the symbol on them identical to the one on his sleeve. How many generations of Uzumaki had put their work into the scrolls there? He would never know. He stepped and dropped to one knee as he brought the Rasengan down on the seals. They withstood the swirling chakra for a precious few seconds before shattering one by one. The scrolls burst into flames as he lifted his hand and let the chakra in the Rasengan fade. A single tear slid down his face into the flames. He turned and simply walked away.

Tsunade glared at the Raikage, "Why did you do that to him? If you knew his past, why do something like that?"

The Raikage replied evenly, "Because I needed to know what a future leader of the Leaf Village is made off. Old Hiruzen was right. That boy is something special. Now I know and I pray I did not make an enemy this day. I will have someone show the two of you back to your hotel. There is already something waiting at the desk for when you arrive."

* * *

Tsunade walked next to Naruto the entire way back to the hotel. He never spoke or looked around.

"Naruto, why did you destroy the scrolls?" Tsunade asked once they were almost at the hotel.

Naruto stopped and looked down, "It was one of those no win situations that you, Jiraiya-sensei and Anko-sensei kept us learning about. No matter what choice I made I would lose. If I took his deal, I would be betraying every ancestor who put their secrets into those scrolls. It would also give the Cloud something they could later use on people I care for and I would know it was my fault. This way they don't know and I have not betrayed anyone. If I tried to negotiate, he could end up getting more for it than they were worth if they contained nothing. The only winning move was not to play his game. It was the best option I had."

"I just wish …" He stopped there and lapsed into silence once more.

"You just wish you could have checked first to see if they truly were your relatives' scrolls," Tsunade finished for him. Naruto just nodded.

"It was the right thing to do and the best option I had, I just wish it wasn't so damned hard," he whispered.

"Naruto that is the kind of decision a Hokage needs to make. I know that's still your goal one day even if you aren't shouting it to the heavens anymore," Tsunade said quietly.

Naruto chuckled lightly, "You heard about that huh?"

"People talk. They all wonder what kind of spell Hinata put on you to get you to stop yelling out like that after you met her."

"No spell, she just became my friend and I realized I didn't need to shout it out anymore. She believed in me."

Tsunade just smiled and fingered her necklace. 'One day soon, perhaps you might find a new owner.'

At the hotel, Tsunade checked at the desk. The clerk brought up a large package that was labeled 'Uzumaki Naruto'. Tsunade was puzzled but took it with her back to Naruto. The note on the package was simple.

'To Uzumaki Naruto. This ledger was taken after the battle with you relatives. It was unsealed and the original that was retrieved.'

Naruto opened the package to find a large, leather bound text. Carefully opening the cover he found the words 'Uzumaki Clan Register and Genealogy'. His fingers traced over the words as if they would vanish under his touch.

Tsunade gasped softly and turned back to the clerk, "When was this dropped off?"

"It was left here by the escort that came for you earlier, ma'am"

"It was here even before the Raikage made you the offer with the scrolls, Naruto. He was testing you with those. No matter what else, more than any jutsu or a bloodline, this is the most important piece of a clan's history."

Naruto was not paying her much attention as he was flipping pages. Names, dates, and accomplishments of people who lived and died long before him were all listed. He turned to the last few written pages. His search finally came to a simple listing.

"Uzumaki Kushina, born July 10" he said slowly as tears fell down his whiskered cheeks. "My Mom. I had a family."

Tsunade smiled and put her arm over Naruto's shoulder. "No matter what you decided before, it was worth getting this." Then she steered the boy toward his room as he just looked at the book.

Naruto got ready for bed once Tsunade had left him alone. He was exhausted after all the events of the past week but he found he couldn't sleep. Finally, he took the book and looked at how the entries were formatted. Carefully he picked up a brush and ink and wrote next to his mother's name 'Died October 10' along with the year.

Then he turned to a blank page, paused then skipped to the following one and wrote in his best writing, 'Uzumaki Naruto. Born October 10, to Uzumaki Kushina and'. There he left a space in case he learned his father's name one day. Smiling slightly, he yawned and placed the book on the desk next to him. Then he lay down and fell asleep.

* * *

Early the next morning, the genin teams were led into a large hall in the Cloud Academy and told to sit wherever they liked. Each person had been given a list containing attributes of nameless genin. Each list had skill levels, jutsu and any potential bloodlines.

When the time for the start of the test arrived, the outer doors were closed and a jonin walked in.

"No one else will be admitted into this exam. If anyone was not here, they already failed. If anyone is missing a team member, speak up now and head for the exit."

Two Mist ninja stood and walked toward the door grumbling at their teammate who had gone to the restroom.

"Each of you was given a list of possible subordinates on a hypothetical mission you are assigned as a chunin. You will be individually taken into another room and asked who you would choose from people on the list to have on your team when given the mission. You will defend your answer and be graded on your responses. If a member of a team fails, your entire team fails. People who pass will be returned to the auditorium."

The assembled genin all began talking to their teammates. Naruto smiled at Hinata and Sakura because they had done this sort of thing many times. The trio immediately looked over the list much more closely and began discussing the good and bad about each potential candidate for a team. The first three on the list were each a strong type, one in taijutsu, one in ninjutsu, one in genjutsu. However each of the three was very weak in the other two areas. The second three potentials listed had well balanced personal skills but each excelled in two primary areas.

Hinata looked at the list, "So I think the best bet on who to pick depends on the type of mission needs doing."

Sakura nodded, "So if there is a clearly defined type of mission, the best choices would be one strong with a pair of the second trio balancing off the team.

Naruto nodded as well, "If the mission is more uncertain then go for the more all around team of the last three."

The team waited and listened to the discussions around them as the time passed. Teams were being called in but few were returning. The level of tension slowly rose. Naruto was beginning to feel it as well until Hinata poked him. "Silly, the man said people would be returned to the auditorium. The sign on the door here said 'Lecture Hall'. It's a mind game. I figure the first few teams were set ups to increase the tension."

Naruto calmed down slightly after that. Finally, they noticed one of the Konoha teams was called in. Minutes later it was their turn. The walked through the door and each of them was taken to a different table.

* * *

Hinata sat gracefully as bowed to the jonin there. He just nodded his head and spoke in clipped tones, "You are being sent on a search and destroy mission. You are to cause as much havoc as possible to your enemy's rear areas. Which three team members would you bring?"

Hinata looked at the list the instructor handed her. It had the same people on it but in a different order. She saw it was a way to catch someone who had just memorized patterns from the original list. She pointed at the list, "I would bring ninja A, D, and F; the ninjutsu specialist, the taijutsu / ninjutsu combination and the genjutsu / medical support."

"Why those three?"

"The primary ninjutsu ninja was listed as having mainly earth and water jutsu in her arsenal. These could be used to create the required disturbances. The combination taijutsu / ninjutsu ninja would be for team defense and support if enemies cannot be avoided. The genjutsu / medic for breaking contact with the enemy and medical issues in the event it is needed since they are behind enemy lines."

The jonin nodded. "A good choice. You pass. You may leave."

Hinata bowed then asked, "Which way is the auditorium?"

The jonin smirked then pointed the opposite way from where she had come.

* * *

Sakura bowed to the jonin before her and sat at the seat he pointed to.

"You are being sent on a mission to gather information on enemy positions. You are required to bring the information back at all costs. Which ninja from this list would you bring?" The jonin handed Sakura a list from earlier with the ninja in a different order.

Sakura looked over the new list and replied, I would bring B, D, and F; the genjutsu specialist, the taijutsu / ninjutsu combination and the genjutsu / medic."

"Why choose those three ninja?"

"Since stealth is the key, the genjutsu abilities would be most useful in avoiding enemy contact. If contact cannot be avoided, the taijutsu / ninjutsu ninja could act in a defensive manner until the combined work of the pair of genjutsu ninja could allow them to escape contact."

The jonin nodded, "Good, you pass."

Sakura stood just as Hinata passed by so she followed her teammate after Hinata pointed in the direction opposite of where they had come from.

* * *

Naruto bowed and sat down.

The jonin nodded before speaking. "You are being sent on a mission to raid a settlement in a foreign country. You cannot have it traced back to your village. Which ninja from this list would you bring?"

Naruto looked at the list and thought for almost a minute. "Is it likely there will be enemy ninja in this village?"

The jonin chuckled. "Stalling I see. No, there will be no enemy ninja in this village."

Naruto nodded and replied, "I would assign ninja C, the taijutsu specialist, ninja D, the taijutsu / ninjutsu combination and ninja B, the genjutsu specialist."

The jonin frowned, "Interesting choices, I am about to fail you on this question unless you explain to me your reasoning."

Naruto smiled, "My reasoning is simple. The taijutsu specialist and the combination ninja would both physically assault the town in question while the genjutsu specialist makes it appear like a bandit raid is occurring. The lack of ninjutsu in the raid would not give investigators a lead back to the village while leading them assume it was truly a bandit raid. A few burned homes and battered civilians from blunt weaponry would be convincing evidence that it was not ninja who did this."

The jonin thought about it for about 30 seconds before nodding. "Unorthodox but then you Leaf ninja tend to think outside the norm. Your reasoning supports your choices. You pass."

"Thank you," Naruto said. "Would you be so kind as to direct me to the auditorium?"

The jonin laughed and pointed.

* * *

Naruto caught up to Sakura and Hinata where they waited just inside the auditorium. Hinata hugged Naruto lightly for passing and the trio sat to wait. After a time, teams stopped entering and a jonin entered and walked to the front. "Congratulation to the 15 teams here, all of you here have passed the first exam. All of you are to be at the village's western gate at sunset for the second exam. It will take place outside of the village. Dismissed."

Naruto only noticed two other Leaf teams. He frowned at the number of Cloud teams but remembered that it was the same way in Konoha. The host village has an unlimited number of entries. They knew the local terrain so foreign ninja would be at a disadvantage.

The clouds were closer to the village as evening drew near. It would be wet and cold during the night. Team Apprentice decided to forget any kind of subtlety and show up in full combat gear a half hour before sunset. The change in the trio was noticeable even to the other Leaf teams. Naruto just let his smile fall away from his face and he looked completely different. Hinata just seemed to exude confidence as she took all of her hard won lessons under Anko and just plain seemed dangerous. A few passersby noticed her eyes and shuddered that if this was a TINY Hyuuga, what would a full sized one be like? Sakura had added a long sleeved shirt under her dress. The reversed side of her dress with the maroon instead of white highlights would appear black in a short time. She added full length weatherproof tights instead of her normal bike shorts for warmth. The only skin anyone could see on Team Apprentice was their faces and fingertips. Each member checked over the gear of the others as the sun dipped under the horizon.

"All right. Time for the Second test. This is timed multipart test. It will take place within the large valley to our immediate west. Each team will be given a map with 4 checkpoints on it. You must get the code from three of the checkpoints to unlock the case at the fourth. Once you have the contents of your specific case, one that matches the number on your map, you will then bring it back here unopened. When the sun touches this marker," the jonin pointed at a symbol of the Cloud village, "at any checkpoint that checkpoint is closed. You will not be allowed to deface or destroy any of the posts that contain the passwords or you will be disqualified. If you complete the first stage you will be able to go to the second stage immediately no matter when you arrive back here. The second stage will only be revealed to those who finish the first."

The teams were each handed a map and when the jonin dropped his hand, nearly all the teams leapt off into the deepening darkness. Sakura had taken hold of Naruto and Hinata before they could do the same.

"What is wrong, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing, before we go rushing off, we should look at the map and take advantage of the height we have now to get an idea of the land we need to be crossing. It is a new moon this week so we will not have much if any moonlight to help us. None of us are used to this terrain and it will only get worse as it gets darker. Something about this doesn't feel right."

Hinata noticed the jonin proctor watching them with interest but the man said nothing. "I think there is enough light for me to see the checkpoints from here if I can find a place to view from, but only for a few more minutes."

Naruto was looking at the map. "Look at how one checkpoint is much further out and way up on the western side of the valley. Once the sun comes up; that one will be hit by sunlight first. It's another trick. If we stumble around in the dark going after the first three checkpoints, we will miss getting to the last one if we are late. Hinata, can you see the one across the valley from here right now?"

Hinata activated her bloodline and looked at where the map indicated. She did have a line of sight so she focused tightly and could make out part of what she needed. "It appears to be a post with some writing on it but I cannot read it because of the shadows it is in. On the three nearer checkpoints I can see two of them but the third does not seem to be where the map indicates."

Sakura smiled, "Good enough. We head for that far one first. Since the rest are down deep in the valley and on the eastern side, the morning sunlight will not be hitting them until it is already well after dawn."

"We travel at full speed until we cannot see, then move at the best pace after that," Naruto suggested. "Hinata will be able to see slightly better than us and my night vision is better than most but even I need some light to see by. We get to that far checkpoint while it is still dark and we should be at an advantage."

The trio then ran off down the slope.

The jonin watching smiled slowly, 'They were the only team to take the time to evaluate the information before leaving. It should be interesting to see if they finish this test.'

* * *

The testing area was a miles wide U shaped valley next to the village. The village sat on the edge of the eastern side. The ground was covered in grass and heather with small copses of trees and a large number of rocky outcrops scattered along the sides. A large stream ran down the middle. The team had barely a half hour of travel before it became too dark to see. The night air had cooled and a fog filled the valley floor as well.

They managed to get to the floor of the valley and about halfway to the furthest checkpoint when even Hinata could not see ahead of them. They got closer together even with the risk of attack and continued by crawling to feel their way. They could hear some of the other teams occasionally but they managed to keep silent. After an hour of crawling along, they knew they were going uphill once more.

Naruto took his turn as the lead person, he took a risk. He pulled out a single red glowstick and cracked it. With the fog it was not a major risk but even so, he put it into the sleeve of his shirt. The dim red light spilled out of his sleeve to the ground giving both Hinata and himself enough light to allow them to rise up from a crawl to a crouch. They moved more quickly after that as they made the climb up the western slope of the valley. They passed above the fog layer and were surprised at how bright the starlight seemed to be after being in the near absolute darkness for hours. They quickly oriented themselves with their map and headed for the checkpoint.

Hinata activated her bloodline when they got near the checkpoint and she found no one within her range of vision. The checkpoint was indeed a post with some writing on it. Sakura wrote the needed code word and the trio turned to head back down the slope. A few rocks being knocked loose further down warned them of another team heading up the hill. There was no need for combat in this part of the test but none of them would be taken by surprise. They angled away from the team coming uphill.

Hinata spotted a second team resting just above the fog layer as they approached it. Deciding to remain as stealthy as possible, Team Apprentice moved across the face of the slope just below the fog layer toward where another checkpoint lay. They climbed up into the clear every hour of so to make sure they were on the right trail. They stopped to rest on the slope a couple of hours before dawn close to the second checkpoint.

* * *

Naruto spent his time looking at the map with his hidden glowstick. It was a simply topographical map with the elevations the only real details. He was puzzled by the checkpoint that Hinata couldn't see. He pondered the map as he noticed one group of lines very close together downhill from the 'missing' checkpoint. 'From what Hinata showed me a couple of years back; that means a very steep area, maybe a small cliff.'

He carefully slid closer to the girls and showed it to them. Hinata looked at what he pointed out and smiled. At least Naruto had been paying attention to her teaching even then. "Hinata, how can something be there but not be there at the same time on a map?"

The heiress thought and muttered, "Well the map is from above so the checkpoint is under that spot. Under. Wait, Naruto. Maybe it IS at that spot just not where we can see it. Maybe it's underground. From above something underground would be at the same spot on a map as the things over it!" She pointed at the spot that indicated a cliff, "There might be a cave there going back into the hillside. That would explain why we couldn't see the checkpoint. Plus the fog would cover up the sight of one and confuse people. Likely that would be the best place to put the scrolls we need to retrieve as well. What I had seen at sunset looked like posts as well."

Sakura grinned. She had a plan to limit the competition.

* * *

The morning crept closer as the team began to move again. Sakura had them head for the small cliff to check it out and see if it truly was a cave. The fog slowed their progress but as the first hint of light touched the eastern horizon, they found what they were seeking. It was indeed a cave going back into the slope in the direction of the checkpoint. Sakura grinned again in an almost evil fashion as she concentrated. Naruto was stunned as the cave opening first disappeared behind a wall of solid rock. Then to make it more difficult to see, Sakura added the image of a rockfall in front of that.

"That should slow anyone else down," Sakura said with a smile. The prankster in Naruto admired the deviousness of his teammate. The trio then headed out for the other two checkpoints to get the needed codes.

As the light increased, their range of vision extended. In under a half hour they were able to reach the seconds part of the password. The eastern sky was well lit by now with the first rays of dawn not far behind. They sped up to make sure they could get the final part of their password.

The top of the far western point of the valley was touched by sunlight as they got to the last portion of the password. The team wrote it down and headed back towards the cave. They could see several groups on the slope above the last checkpoint as they ran along the bottom of the valley toward the still hidden cave. The fog hid the genjutsu well. They were hidden from the view of those groups by the small cliff and the team simply walked through Sakura's genjutsu into the cave. Naruto pulled out a yellow glowstick as the team moved back into the cave. They hurried along the tunnel and in an opening found a number of sealed boxes. They found the one that corresponded to their map and opened it. Sakura took the scroll and the team headed out of the cave. They needed to get back up the mountain.

Once outside, the team found several groups looking along the base of the cliff. They were all startled as Team Apprentice just walked out of an apparently solid wall and sprinted off. Shouts of "Kai" sounded as the teams dispelled Sakura's genjutsu. Naruto did see a few teams on the western slope but the checkpoint up there was already bathed in sunlight.

They took an hour to get back to the village gate. The jonin proctor was waiting. Hinata handed over the map and Sakura handed over the scroll. The jonin checked the scroll to insure it was unopened then matched the numbers and nodded. He opened the scroll and passed it back to the team. "Follow the instructions on the scroll," was all he said to them.

The scroll directed them to reach a temple on a mountain 30 miles distant by noon. The team was tired from being up for nearly a full day at this point with only short cat naps. But, they headed out without complaint. They noticed at least a half dozen teams heading up with scrolls as they were heading back down.

Their months of physical training under Anko worked well in their favor, even with the altitude they were at. They were able to reach the temple with several hours to spare with only minor stops for necessities. By noon, only 3 other teams had arrived. All were Cloud teams.

One of the boys on a Cloud team was angry, "That was a sneaky trick with that genjutsu, Leaf. You'll pay for that." Several others were also looking threatening when the proctor arrived and spoke.

"Stand down. There is no fighting unless I allow it. The Leaf team did not break any rules. Hiding the cave entrance was not breaking the rules. They did nothing to the posts or to another team's scroll. In fact, I know several teams from Cloud have used that very trick in the past. Just because you are not expecting trouble doesn't mean you shouldn't be prepared for it. The test is to see if you are able to perform as chunin not spoiled genin."

The twelve people here will all move on to the finals in three weeks time. Since we do not get as many daimyos visiting, we do not take as long between the early tests and Finals. We will draw lots in the morning before the finals begin. You will not know who you are facing until then. Leaf team, you are welcome to stay in one of the embassies or to leave and return. Your jonin teacher will let you know. Let's get out of here and get back to the village before sunset."

The teams left the temple and encountered several other teams still trying to get to the temple including a Leaf and a Sand team who were having trouble with the thin air. Team Apprentice grouped together with the other Leaf team and helped along the ones who were having trouble. The Sand team thanked them but did not accept the aid.

Shortly before sunset, the team arrived back at the Cloud village to see the smiling face of Tsunade.

* * *

Next Chapter: Assault of the Killer Bee

* * *

**End Notes:  
**I was trying to portray an alpine setting for Cloud more than one that is constantly under storms. The glimpses of Lightning Country are of a mountainous region. I went with that it having some larger glacial valleys. The Narutopedia wikia was helpful there. The skill set I was going for in my exam there was to see things that are less than obvious but can be seen if they pay attention.

My first exam had multiple chances for them to fail. First by not having a good answer for the question, second by not realizing that they were not in the room they would need to end up in afterwards. The second test was not combat related so much as it required the team to perform a mission with not all the information given up front. They needed to analyze the information they did have and make the proper decisions to succeed. The Konoha second exam is more about combat and survival and does not always mean the best teams get through; some get through on luck more than skill. My Cloud test means they not only have to make the right choices, they also need to have the ability to finish the mission within a certain timeframe and then make the escape.

**Review Notes:  
** My situation with the scrolls generated a lot of heat, as intended. Few mentioned my resolution as one thing that could be done with the scrolls. I don't even know what was in those jutsu scrolls and I wrote the stinking story. The Raikage is not just a leader. He recognizes future leaders as well and sees that in Naruto. He wanted to get his own measure of the boy in a setting he controlled.

For emauser. My choice of tonfa was more for having a weapon that was not used often in stories but could be useful for the characters. In canon as well as my story, both Naruto and Hinata are SHORT at age 12, almost 13. He is only 4'9 at this point in canon, Hinata is 4'10 and Sakura is 4'11. My Naruto has actually done slightly better and is 4'11 at this time with Hinata and Sakura still at their canon height. Tonfa will give them some additional reach in their taijutsu attacks that they are lacking against adult opponents without the need for killing everyone like blades would do. As far as his ability to change people, I have intentionally subdued that. I felt that his canon influence was greatly overstated. He does change people but not as fast. The team is more or less equal at this point because the teaching they got was intended to be as broad as possible. Make them competent in a wide array of skills and that will allow them to build up to a greater level of specialized ability later on. The whole tonfa training also served as a good teambuilding exercise.

I tend to have something bad and something good happen to Naruto. For every loss, there is a gain. For every good thing, there is a bad. It all balances out but it is how Naruto handles it all that makes him special and come out ahead in the end.


	33. Assault of the Killer Bee

**Assault of the Killer Bee**

Tsunade arranged for Team Apprentice to remain in Cloud until the Finals in three weeks. A small unused Fire Country embassy existed and the team took over that. The remained of the teams headed back for Konoha along with the ashes of the genin killed by Sound during the trip out to Cloud. They were given a small training area to keep in shape and the Cloud's version of ANBU kept gawkers away.

* * *

Jiraiya rubbed his face as another long night of work faced him. He was tired from so much business as the Hokage. With Tsunade out of Konoha, Sensei's old teammates and Danzo were bothering him a lot more often. He was trying to find a way to seal off Uchiha Sasuke's chakra without killing the boy outright. It all came back to that cursed seal Orochimaru had placed on the boy. It required a sealmaster of Minato's caliber to do quickly and he was just not that good. He could not mesh seals as well as his student could but he kept at it with slow progress. A few more weeks and he might have a workable method.

He knew he needed to make a breakthrough because the Uchiha brat was lying to his doctors again. The stupid civilians were falling under the boy's spell and his sob story. Since Jiraiya held the key to the boy's release that was the only thing keeping the Uchiha confined.

Danzo was pressing hard to have the boy trained in the old Root fashion. Jiraiya would love to be rid of that old man as well but he had too many connections. As the Hokage, if had some kind of tangible proof of the continued existence of Root he would be able to pounce. But he had nothing he could prove to the satisfaction of the Daimyo. Until then he needed to wait.

He had hoped that he could use Kakashi as a replacement for his spy network control but the jonin was too well known. Messages were still getting through to Konoha but they grew fewer by the month. Without the human contact to keep spies loyal, they stopped taking the risks. The half full bottle of scotch beckoned but he would not simply give up. Shaking his head he looked back to his notes and drawings.

* * *

Hinata had been looking for Naruto all evening. The blonde not quite boyfriend of hers had vanished after dinner again. He had done that all week now. Finally fed up with feeling lonely, she had gone looking. The embassy was not a large place but the many small rooms it had for sleeping made it seem larger at night. Her Byakugan guided her through the maze of rooms to the one Naruto was currently hiding in. His posture seemed to be hunched over a large book reading but she could not tell what he was reading. The very walls of the building made her Byakugan ineffective after a quarter of its normal range.

Coming up to the room, she knocked gently. She heard Naruto scramble to hide whatever he was reading. He came to the door after hiding his book. Hinata smiled softly at the boy she loved. "Hi Naruto. You disappeared after dinner again and I wondered if there was anything you needed help with?" she said in her quiet voice.

Naruto blushed. "No, Hinata. There's nothing you can help with right now. Maybe in a few more days," he finished trying to sound upbeat.

Hinata gathered her courage, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no, no, you didn't do anything wrong Hinata. I am just dealing with something private right now but when I finish I will show it to you. I promise," Naruto said.

Hinata just nodded. She knew how Naruto would do anything to keep a promise. "Okay," she said in her quiet voice. "I'll be downstairs until bedtime if you need anything."

"Thanks Hinata, you're the best," Naruto said with a smile as she left.

He closed the door and his shadow hunched over once more.

* * *

At daily sparring practice, Sakura noticed Hinata being a bit more irritable of late. That could only mean one thing; trouble with Naruto. The blonde teen was on the other side of the field methodically destroying henged clones. By common consent neither girl mentioned him. They just trained with him when they needed to and he would disappear into his room or the Cloud public library when not doing any training. All they did notice was he was washing his hands a lot. Tsunade told them not to worry about it.

Sakura was fed up with avoiding things. "He is not going to find someone else, Hinata," she said after one harsh exchange of blows. Hinata stumbled after hearing Sakura's statement. "Believe it or not, you are special to the lunkhead."

"Naruto-kun is not a lunkhead," Hinata replied. "He is doing something and he promised he would show it to me when he was done. I just … miss him," she finished lamely.

Sakura nodded. Hinata was not a rabid fan girl like Sakura had been a couple of years ago. Hinata looked underneath the outside to the person that most hid from view. After a year of working with Naruto she could see it as well. The boy was something special and if Hinata ever gave him up, she might try moving in on him. Some part of her felt depressed with no male paying any attention to her. Her last 'date' had been that disaster at the resort and that had nearly gotten her killed. She was a lot more wary of boys since then.

There were two more weeks until the Finals here in Cloud. They got back to work.

* * *

Naruto woke up and stretched his back. The satisfying pops of vertebrae sounded in the silence of his room. Slowly he closed the book in front of him and looked at it. Now he could talk to his friends.

He picked up the Uzumaki clan ledger and headed for the common area.

Tsunade was pointing out strategies to the girls when Naruto walked in. All three women looked up at him after he set down the book.

"I know I haven't been good company lately but there was something I needed to take care of. The night we got here, the Raikage offered me a chance to get what might have been some family scrolls from my mother's side of the family. Tsunade-sensei confirmed some of the information the Raikage mentioned and I had to choose if I would share the jutsu on them in exchange for ownership of them."

Hinata gasped. To her clan, sharing secret family jutsu scrolls was only done as a last resort. Doing that would be the same as committing a dishonorable act to the eyes of the clan.

"I chose instead to have them destroyed so no one could have it. I couldn't let the secrets of people who may or may not have been my ancestors go to someone else. I destroyed them myself."

Hinata nodded as Tsunade looked on with sad eyes.

"The Raikage also had sent to me this book," he continued. He held up the ledger so Sakura and Hinata could see it. Both girls recognized the symbol in the leather cover as the one on Naruto's arm.

"I've been spending all my free time going over the book. There was a lot of information about past Uzumaki clan members and even my mom was listed in here. The Uzumaki came from a country called Whirlpool. The Water Country destroyed it a long time ago. After reading through it I realized something was missing in the book and I spent the past week taking care of things. I researched like Tsunade-sensei taught us and I managed to find a lot of information about the destruction of Whirlpool and after talking to the Raikage's office I managed to get some declassified documents about the incident where they got this book."

Naruto opened the book to near the end and showed where fresh writing within it appeared.

"I updated everything I could. I added the dates of death for anyone who had been named in any reports and I managed to find most of them. There's only a handful I couldn't find anything on so I figure they got taken by the Water Country or just were killed and are lying in an unknown grave somewhere. Eight generations of Uzumaki in this book and all that is left is me. I might have some relatives out there from my father's side, distant cousins and such but at least now I know about my mom's side. Sorry I have been avoiding you both but I needed to update the book, for them as well as me."

Hinata rose first and hugged Naruto tightly. She knew more about clan things than anyone else in the room and understood why he needed to do that. Family was a precious thing and leaving its business unfinished would tear at a person until it was taken care of. Sakura waited for Hinata to release Naruto so she could hug him as well. Tsunade just patted him on the back.

Naruto finally smiled and the girls sat back down. He turned to Tsunade and bowed politely, "Tsunade-sensei, could you tell me more about my mother, please?"

Tsunade smiled and thought back before telling the genin sitting around her stories of a red headed spitfire named Uzumaki Kushina.

* * *

Jiraiya leaned back as he looked over the seal matrix he had finally come up with. If it worked like it was designed to it would seal up not only the cursed seal of Orochimaru but also the chakra of the person it was applied to. Now he just needed to test it.

The Hokage headed for the ANBU detention center. Several levels underneath the surface he came to a row of cells. Only a relative few ever went into these cells came out again. Right now there were two occupants in the chakra disrupting cages. Jiraiya had designed a number of the most current seals in the hallway and waited while the ANBU brought out one of the prisoners.

The red headed Jirobo walked as slowly as he could. The collar around his neck had a shaped charge on it designed to blow up if he molded any chakra. It was the last failsafe against escape. Already three members of the 'Sound Four' had attempted to escape and died. Sakon had died badly when his brother tried to separate their conjoined bodies. The explosive charge destroyed his head and Ukon died shortly after since he could not survive on his own. Kidomaru simply gave up, channeled his chakra and died. Tayuya would not give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her give up and still cursed out anyone who came close enough to hear her voice.

"Good morning, Jirobo," Jiraiya said calmly. "The time had come to seal up your chakra. I would advise you not to resist because if I make a mistake, it would kill you. Unless you would rather die; which can easily be arranged at any moment?"

Jirobo looked at Jiraiya and slowly shook his head. He did not want to die now. Alive he could be rescued or traded but death was final.

Jiraiya had Jirobo sit in the middle of a prepared sealing array and he painted the needed characters onto the large teen himself. Once everything was ready a trio of people sat in a triangle around the array. Jiraiya counted off to synchronize and they began.

The signs needed to activate the seals went quickly but the process of the actual sealing took over an hour. Jiraiya had to first place a restriction seal over Orochimaru's cursed seal. Once that was blocked off the more difficult part began. The main seal had to constrict through Jirobo's body and chakra coils until it settled down to block any use of chakra. The boy would now not be able to access his chakra.

Once the procedure was completed, the explosive collar was removed from Jirobo and he was escorted back to a cell for a week of observation and testing. If the seal was proven to work properly, Tayuya would be sealed next with Sasuke being done last.

* * *

Hinata waited until Naruto had gone to bed that night to go talk to Tsunade.

"Sensei, I am having a problem with something," she said in her normal soft voice.

"What problem, Hinata?" Tsunade asked.

"After seeing some personal documents of my father's and piecing together information I collected, I discovered who Naruto-kun's father is."

Tsunade frowned. "I see. And you are wondering if you should be telling him about this fact, aren't you?"

"Father said it is a village secret so I have kept it to myself. I hoped talking to you about this might help since it is obvious that you already know this secret."

"His heritage was kept secret for a reason Hinata. I appreciate that you are keeping it but I wish you did not know it. How did you find out anyhow?" Tsunade asked.

"Remember our first trip to the Daimyo before the Konoha Chunin Exam. When the team was introduced to him, he got puzzled at hearing Naruto-kun's name. He spoke to Jiraiya in low tones but I clearly heard the name 'Namikaze'. I was puzzled hearing it because I had no contextual reference. After the Invasion and I was acting head of the Hyuuga, I had to recover my father's personal papers so the crews could renovate and repair his office. In the documents was a team photo of his genin squad under Jiraiya-sama. There was a blonde boy in the picture who looked exactly like Naruto-kun but without his 'whiskers'. Father had told me of the fact he had been on the same genin squad as the Fourth. From there is was simple enough to deduce and I blurted it out in front of my father. He swore me to secrecy and advised me not to tell anyone, especially Naruto-kun."

Tsunade nodded. "Like the Kyuubi, Naruto's secrets are not exactly the best kept ones in the village. In another three years or so, it will be impossible to keep the one about his father quiet since he looks almost identical to the teenage version of the Yondaime already. Minato was a hero to many people and once Naruto looks mature, people will see that famous face once more and realize exactly like you did who he is. Please keep it secret a little while longer, Hinata. He will be told when the time is right. Jiraiya mentioned something to me that might just help."

Hinata agreed to wait a little longer with her secret.

* * *

Sakura grumbled under her breath. This waiting for the Finals was driving her nuts. She was so caught up with other things last time that she had not cared about the time between the early stages and the Finals. She was really tempted to just cut loose and destroy a few training posts but Sensei said not to. Tsunade also bluntly reminded Sakura about her own personal experience with lightning jutsu. That brought the pink haired girl up short. She had not considered that. This ended up leading to a two day teaching and discussion with the team and Tsunade on recognizing and countering lightning jutsu. At their current level of training, their best option was only to not get hit by one.

The counters Tsunade knew were too advanced for them as yet. Without knowing the jutsu in between the things they could do and the best counter for a lightning jutsu, their chances of getting it in the last week before the Finals was as likely as Naruto giving up ramen for life.

Instead, she showed them a simple trick with ninja wire and a kunai that the Uchiha clan had developed decades before. Originally, it had been to get a person using lightning jutsu to use a more powerful jutsu to copy but it should work well against a genin. If the genin is preparing a lighting jutsu from a distance, they would throw the kunai with the attached wire away from them to try to draw it off. The idea was to try to have the weapon act as a lightning rod and shift the target of the jutsu to the blade. Stronger jutsu would not be countered by this but low level ones with poor control had a better than average chance of being misdirected that way.

Now, Sakura was practicing with her kunai throwing just like an Academy student. There was only a split second moment of opportunity to throw the kunai and that took practice to achieve. She worked hard at it however because she did not want to get hit with anything like that again.

* * *

Naruto wondered if he would ever finish the punishment Tsunade laid out for him. It was not like he had done anything 'wrong'. Tsunade had told them stories about his mom, Kushina, and how she had nearly taken the redhead on as an apprentice because she cared so much about the orphaned girl. When the older blonde muttered with a wistful smile that she almost considered her a daughter at one point, Naruto had to go ruin things.

_"Really, you thought of her like a daughter? Well, since I'm her son that would make you my Baa-"_

_Tsunade had Naruto by the front of his jacket, "Finish that word Naruto and you WILL be scrubbing and polishing ever floor in this embassy all by yourself; with no shadow clones to help."_

_"-chan," whimpered out Naruto._

_"Hinata, get a bucket and scrub brush for your boyfriend," Tsunade said with an evil gleam in her eye._

Hinata was so intimidated by the look on Tsunade that she did not even try to correct her teacher about Naruto not being her boyfriend. Later in the evening, Hinata realized that she never had corrected it and had a nice warm and fuzzy feeling thinking of Naruto like that.

* * *

The night before the Finals was the time for a party. The Raikage invited all twelve genin and their instructors to a feast in his mansion. The man knew that being seen as a kind man when he did not have to harsh was a benefit to the loyalty of the Cloud ninja. Yes, they had all seen the power he held more than once but he realized by watching the Sandaime Hokage that being strong did not mean one had to be a despot. Having people follow you because they wanted to had greater rewards than them following because they are afraid of you.

Tonight, the Raikage was not sure how well people would react. His baby brother had come into the village and was looking to join the party.

'Why couldn't he just have stayed out at the mountain?' he thought as the guards told him of his brother's arrival in town.

Before the Raikage could even warn the people in the room, the doors to the hall flew open and a shout rang out, "HEY PEEPS, KILLA-BEE IN THE HOUSE!"

Every head turned to see the huge man in the doorway. His dark skin gleamed in the light and he kept his sunglasses on even though it was night. He was wearing many swords and had a tattoo that looked like bull horns on his left cheek. The man strolled up to the Raikage.

"Hey there big bro, is it time for my show?" he said in time to a beat only he could hear.

"Bee, why are you here tonight?" the Raikage asked with forced patience.

"I need to share my rhymes, I got to make good times," Killerbee said.

"Bee, stop rhyming at me," the Raikage said rubbing his head and feeling a headache coming on.

Killerbee faked a gape at his older brother, "You made a rhyme big bro!"

The Raikage just shook his head and turned back to the party while Killerbee moved toward the buffet table.

Team Apprentice and Tsunade just stood off to one side during all of this. The Cloud ninja paid it little heed as they had all seen Killerbee at some point. All the girls just looked on at Killerbee devouring the food at the buffet table. Naruto was glad he had only eaten lightly because he would have lost his lunch otherwise.

They were about to move further away when Killerbee suddenly stopped and turned to look directly at Naruto. The man put down the sandwich he had been making and walked over to the Konoha ninja.

"You, you're the one, the one Yugi told me about. You don't need to just stand and pout. You got a power, a power that rocks, you got the power of the nine tailed fox."

Naruto was taken by surprise by this huge Cloud ninja practically shouting out his burden to the room. He turned and headed for the exit

"Where you running now lil bro? If you're scared, fine, just go. You should embrace your gift, hold your power, it will take you to the Kage's Tower," Bee taunted.

Naruto stopped as if he had run into a wall. He turned and glared at Bee, "You know nothing. It's not a power. It is a curse just waiting to get out. Its death and destruction and the only thing stopping it is me."

The crowd had closed in slightly to listen in on this verbal battle. The ninja over chunin rank could feel the anger flowing off Naruto in waves now. Only Bee, Tsunade and the Raikage could feel the rise of the Kyuubi's chakra within Naruto as his anger spiked. Tsunade touched Hinata on the shoulder and lightly nudged her toward Naruto. The girl took the hint and came up next to Naruto.

"Relax, Naruto-kun. He is seeing how much self control you have by poking at your weakest point," she whispered. "He is trying to get a fight out of you. His chakra is huge and it feels a lot like yours when you're upset. I think he is like you."

'Like me huh?' Naruto thought. Thanks to Hinata his control was firmly back in place. 'Not today, Kitsune.'

"I do gotta say, you got balls, boy. Who's the chippie? Your little sex toy?" Bee rapped out next.

Naruto narrowed his eyes once more as his anger grew. This big jonin was insulting Hinata.

"Apologize to Lady Hinata for that insult," Naruto said in a voice accompanied by enough killer intent to scare nearly everyone present.

Bee just raised an eyebrow. He actually felt that KI from Naruto. It had been a long time since that had happened. He just grinned.

"Defending her honor does take class. But you do realize I can kick your ass?" Bee replied smoothly.

"You might be a jonin and have something special like me, but I will not quit and will come after you until you apologize to Hinata," Naruto said even more coldly.

Hinata was wide eyed with fear as people were backing up from the chakra that began flowing off both Naruto and Killerbee. Sakura grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Naruto as they saw tendrils of red chakra seeping out of Naruto's pores. Tsunade was shocked. Naruto had _never_ shown this kind of rage before. But in spite of his anger he was in full control of himself.

Bee had to admit this little blonde kid impressed him. He was hoping for a fight worth his time.

"Bee," an imperious voice sounded behind him. The rapper looked behind him to see his big brother glaring at him and cringed. In spite of his being the jinchuuriki of the Hachibi, he was scared of his big brother.

The Raikage spoke in a low voice, "Bee, you are going to apologize to the young Lady Hyuuga, take your sandwich and get home. These Leaf ninja are guests of our village and will be treated as such. Picking a fight with a genin as well. That is beneath you."

"But -," Bee tried to argue.

"_Now_," was all the Raikage said.

Killerbee turned to Hinata and in a defeated voice said, "I apologize for my insult, Lady Hyuuga."

Hinata just nodded and in a shaky but clear voice replied, "It is forgiven."

Bee looked at Naruto, "When you make jonin come look me up. We can go a few rounds."

The crowd looked on stunned as Killerbee had not even attempted to make a rhyme. That meant he was being completely serious. Naruto just nodded.

Killerbee strolled back to the buffet table and retrieved his sandwich. He strutted slightly as he departed the room.

Naruto had already closed his eyes and was focusing on not losing control. He slowly forced the red chakra of the Kyuubi back down and the tendrils dissipated. Once he had done that he opened his eyes and looked to the Raikage.

"My apologies for the disruption, Raikage-sama. I hope I have not destroyed my chances of participating in the Finals tomorrow," Naruto said in a contrite manner.

The Raikage was torn. He wanted to see what else this Naruto could do in a serious fight. He rubbed his chin in thought. "With that power at your disposal you could easily kill everyone in the arena. I have to think of the safety of the people in Cloud."

Naruto pulled out all the manners the Old Man Sandaime had taught him and made an offer.

"If I show any hint of using it against anyone participating in the Exams, I offer my life as forfeit."

That got the crowd murmuring. Hinata gasped and Sakura cried out, "No Naruto!"

The Raikage nodded, "You may participate. I will accept your offer."

* * *

The following morning the arena in Cloud was buzzing with the news of the dinner the night before and Naruto's offer. The twelve genin gathered on the floor of the arena and waited for the pairing for the tournament. There would be a total of 11 fights over the course of the day; 4 round 1 fights to reduce the entrants to 8 genin. Then each person with a bye would fight someone who won each first round bout to make the semifinals. With nine of the genin from Cloud, there would be many fights between friends and even teammates. Naruto hoped he would not have to fight Hinata or Sakura.

A judge came to each genin and had them choose a lot. Sakura got number 3. She would fight the winner of number 1 and number 2.

Hinata got number 11. She smiled that she would not have to fight Sakura until the final if both made it that far.

Naruto pulled out his number and his face fell. He had number 10.

His first opponent would be Hinata.

* * *

Next Chapter: To Fight or Not to Fight, That is the Question.

* * *

**End Notes:  
**This chapter was difficult to write. It didn't flow like I wanted and kept getting large portions deleted. I hope the quality has not fallen off but I finally got it to be an acceptable level for me.

More trouble for Naruto. Who will fight and who will give up? Ah, I can see the hate mail coming in already.

**Review Notes:  
**My thought regarding the lack of daimyos is due to the official map of the Elemental Countries. Land of Lightning is far to the northeast. A majority of the smaller countries are to the south and west of the Land of Fire. The best way I can think to describe the official map to overlay it onto the USA. Cloud would be Boston, Konoha would be roughly St Louis, Mist would be about Miami, Suna would be Las Vegas and Iwa would be Seattle. While not accurate it would still give people some idea of locations not distance. Cities west of Konoha (St. Louis) would have a lot harder time getting to Cloud (Boston) and might not think the trip is worth it.

One last note on the Uzumaki jutsu scrolls. Jutsu can be found, recreated, or simply lost over time. The sole surviving copy of the clan's genealogy is much more valuable.

The tests I came up with are tests that decide things based on what Cloud wants from its chunin. My version has them needing to be able to think on their feet. Make planning a priority and to see more than what is given. Konoha has a different standard on what a chunin needs. I mentioned long ago in this story that Konoha has the highest standards in what they want chunin to be. I even said that in another village, Sasuke would have been a chunin already simply based on his ability, not his mental state.

To the anonymous reviewer, AnonWarHawkBillTim, who sent 5 negative reviews in 10 minutes. I do look at the time stamps on the emails I get on my reviews. Keep on trying. I am still laughing. I also still am not shutting off anonymous reviews or deleting negative stuff.


	34. To Fight or Not To Fight

**To Fight or Not to Fight, That is the Question.**

_A judge came to each genin and had them choose a lot. Sakura got number 3. She would fight the winner of number 1 and number 2._

_Hinata got number 11. She smiled that she would not have to fight Sakura until the final if both made it that far._

_Naruto pulled out his number and his face fell. He had number 10._

_His first opponent would be Hinata._

* * *

Naruto looked into Hinata's eyes and he knew he couldn't hurt the girl he loved. It had finally gotten through his thick skull that what he felt for the Hyuuga heiress was love. He had no other word to describe it and the past few years he had learned a great deal more about social things than he had ever known.

Before the fire it was not something he had ever worried about. Then, all he cared about was being recognized and acknowledged. He was loud and careless and inflicted pranks everyone in sight just to get the slightest attention even if it was negative. It was better than being completely ignored.

Since that fateful day, the pearl eyes with a hint of lavender in them haunted him. He found that he didn't need to do those things to be noticed. Someone cared enough that he would always have someone giving him attention. Now, after last night's confrontation over a simple insult had made him realize she meant so much more. Hinata was still a mystery to him in many ways. But she was a mystery he wanted to unravel.

He was forced to choose, fight Hinata and possibly hurt her or forfeit and lose the respect he had earned for Konoha in the Cloud. Neither choice was acceptable. He couldn't think of a way out of this.

* * *

Hinata slowly walked up to the waiting area deep in thought. This was the moment she had worked for since she was able to walk. Once she made chunin, she would certainly prove even to the most rigid Hyuuga elder that she was not weak or a failure. She only needed to go forward with this fight and her advancement would be all but assured.

But to get to her goal she had to go through the one person she cared for more than her family. She had to stop herself from poking her fingers together. She had not done that in a long time but her nerves had driven her most base instincts back to the fore. How could she fight like this?

* * *

Sakura shook her head. 'This is bad. Neither one can back out from this fight. But neither one is going to be able to fight the other seriously. That would be worse than one of them backing out. There has to be a way to solve this.'

Her train of thought was disrupted as the referee pointed the ten non-fighting competitors off the arena floor so the first pair could fight. Sakura noticed both Hinata and Naruto were looking nervously at each other. 'Both look like they are about to give up completely. If that happens not only will they never live it down but Konoha won't either.'

"Hinata, Naruto, you are going to have to fight here today. This Exam is bigger than either of you. Hinata, if you back down, the entire Hyuuga clan will look like paper tigers. Remember how the people were looking at you just before the second test? They saw a Hyuuga ready to take on anyone. You intimidated them and you hadn't done anything yet. Naruto, at the dinner last night EVERYONE was scared of you. You stood face to face with another jinchuuriki and didn't back down. If you do today, no one will ever consider you seriously as a candidate for Hokage someday. You both are going to have to fight and fight each other seriously."

The boy and girl looked at each other then back to Sakura.

"I know I need to fight seriously, Sakura. But seeing Naruto's face makes if difficult to try to hurt him," Hinata said quietly. "I lose my focus every time I look back at him. When I see his face and blue eyes looking back at me, I can't find Rabbit."

Naruto looked puzzled but Sakura just nodded. "Don't worry, Naruto. It was from girl talk. But that's the answer." The pink haired girl had a grin slowly widen on her face.

* * *

The cell door opened. The masked ANBU stood there. "It's time," he said.

Sasuke grumbled as the elite operative stepped back to let him out of the cell Jiraiya had him confined to a few days earlier. He thought he was doing a good job convincing the stupid civilians he was getting better. They were recommending his release. The Uchiha mystique was working on them just as much as his lies. Then Jiraiya having him confined to this room and telling him his chakra would be sealed off. His appeals to the Daimyo had been returned unconsidered. The Daimyo had agreed with Jiraiya, sealing or death.

He tried to get messages to anyone he could but once he had been taken to the cell, he had no more visitors to ask for help. He had even considered begging but his pride would not allow that thought to get moving. The ultimate indignity was this collar around his neck. If he tried to use his chakra, it would kill him.

Sasuke glared at the ANBU as he was lead to the sealing room. Jiraiya and the sealing team waited for him there. The heavy door closed behind him.

* * *

The Raikage invited Tsunade up to his box since there was no official representative for Konoha at this exam. He hated sitting alone in the box. It would also raise the status of the Cloud in the eyes of the daimyos that had attended. Having a Sannin of Konoha in attendance was nearly as good as another Kage since the team members were all recognized as being Kage level ninja. Having someone to talk to during the waits between matches was welcome as well.

* * *

The first three matches were done quickly. 'Some of the genin were not that good,' Sakura thought. One fairly handsome one had done well and might give Sakura a test in her match in the second round but she was confident in her ability to beat him. She was worried about the fourth match just as the announcement came up from the floor of the arena.

"The fourth match, Hyuuga Hinata of Leaf against Uzumaki Naruto of Leaf," the jonin referee called out.

The pink haired girl heard footsteps descending the stairs as the combatants went to the floor of the arena one at a time. The murmurs of the crowd increased as they saw the Leaf ninja.

Both were dressed in classic black stealth outfits and bristled with weaponry. What was making the commotion was the fact of the blonde was wearing a porcelain ANBU style mask with stylized features of a fox on them. The dark haired fighter wore one with the features of a rabbit complete with ears slightly wrapped around the sides. The pair stopped about ten paces from each other and stood there waiting for a signal.

A single ninja used a shun-shin jutsu to get down to the floor of the arena and spoke to the referee. He pointed to the combatants and made a motion like lifting a mask from his face.

The jonin in charge stepped up to them. "I need to confirm your identities. You may wear the masks but I need to insure you are the correct people under them."

Rabbit stepped up to the jonin and lifted her mask. The man nodded and went to Naruto. Naruto also lifted his as well. The jonin was satisfied with the identities of the people and nodded up to the box where the Raikage sat. The Raikage waved for the man to continue.

* * *

The Cloud leader leaned over to Tsunade. "Interesting situation. Why the masks?"

Tsunade sighed. "They are good friends and neither one is in a position to back down from this fight. With the masks on they can go at each other full force because they don't have to see the face of their friend being hurt under their hand. It is a mental thing but when they put on those masks, they are true ninja."

* * *

Rabbit stared at Fox. She went over in her mind what Fox's favorite attacks were. Most of their fighting style was known by the other. She smiled slightly thinking, 'Most, but not all.' Rabbit got into her ready stance and waited.

Naruto was having trouble controlling his emotions. There was too much of the Kyuubi chakra in his system from the previous night to make things easy for him. Now that he was aware of his true feelings for Hinata, he found it difficult to focus on the moment. He needed to center himself but the fight was about to begin.

The jonin referee shouted, "Begin!" and leapt back. Naruto immediately spammed a dozen shadow clones that charged Rabbit. Naruto himself jumped backwards and to the surprise of everyone began doing a simple tai chi kata.

Rabbit nodded as the dozen clones charged her. She would have rather gotten down to business but these would do for a warm up. She stepped up and with the grace of a dancer began her own attacks. Her fingers shimmered as she gathered chakra in the tips. The clones vanished as she just grazed her fingers along them. The smallest nick of her chakra was enough to destabilize a clone. Six disappeared in her first pass through the mob.

The remaining six clones jumped away from Rabbit as they also gained the memories of the dispersed clones. They realized this was a new attack and had to come up with a counter. Each clone began on a jutsu. Five of them began the same jutsu while one began a different one. In seconds, five blasts of air hit Rabbit while the ground at her feet turned to mud.

'An earth jutsu, that's new,' Rabbit thought. "But Jiraiya-sama is an earth type after all. It makes sense he would have Fox learn at least some of the simpler ones.'

Rabbit allowed the wind blasts to push her back as she slid across the surface of the mud. Her chakra kept her on top of the muck instead of sinking into it. Her hands slid behind her to pull out senbon from a special pouch in the small of her back. Once the wind stopped she threw the needles at the clones in sequence. The clone casting the earth jutsu got her attention first. His hand flew up to his face as the needle penetrated the eye hole of the mask as it dispelled. She began running ahead as she pulled more senbon and hurled them at the five clones still scattered around her. Her target was in front of her and she was closing rapidly on the true Fox.

Naruto focused on getting his center. That had always been one of the biggest problems. His ability seemed to increase dramatically when he could hold it. The tai chi kata Jiraiya had taught him had helped immensely and would allow him to focus better but even that took ten to fifteen seconds of preparation.

First, he focused on blocking off the chakra leaking into his system from the Kyuubi. That part was simple enough. 'I can't make more than a few shadow clones without the kitsune's chakra. I can't be using that jutsu too much during the fight,' he mentally reminded himself. He could not block it forever but by focusing his own chakra along the seal the natural leaks were plugged. The harder part was flushing the chakra already in his system out. He did not want to go against his word.

He felt his clones winking out as Hinata destroyed them. 'No, not Hinata. Just Rabbit. Your opponent is Rabbit.' He thought as he focused. The memories of the clone who took the senbon to the eye hit him. That was the last thing he needed now to push him into the mindset of being able to fight unrestricted.

Naruto achieved the control he needed and forced the small amount of the Kyuubi chakra in his system out in a flash of crimson light.

Fox opened his eyes and glared at the charging Rabbit.

* * *

Tsunade knew her students well enough that she could sometimes sense their emotional states simply from the way their chakra reacted. Hinata was able to reach the mental state of Rabbit with a few deep breaths. Her mind was ordered, serene, and determined in spite of her long history of social awkwardness. Shifting it into the right mindset had been just another training exercise for her. It matched her structured state of mind well enough that she rarely had trouble doing it. Once achieved, Rabbit emerged. Rabbit was Hinata free of emotional restraint

Naruto was different. He was naturally chaos personified. His actions were wild and untamed and much like his chakra were the very antithesis of order. When he began his training under the Sannin, finding order amid the chaos was close to impossible. It took him finding a focus and going with that. The medic had been surprised when Jiraiya pulled out the tai chi trick he had picked up over the years. It gave Naruto a chance to focus on the pattern of the motion and find the order that lay underneath. Once he could hold it, his own emotions fell under control and for him Fox emerged. The wild and unruly energy of Naruto became controlled and focused. His anger and sadness no longer had any control over him while he could hold onto Fox. He could do this against enemies and had proven it a month earlier when the Sound remnant ambushed them. Now he had for the first time found Fox while facing a friend.

The Raikage was enjoying the opening of this match. It was already more entertaining than the first three. He was disappointed that these opponents had to face each other in the first round but that was the chance all the participants faced. Uzumaki stopped his small tai chi dance and the Raikage felt a shiver pass through his body. Uzumaki's chakra had just shifted. The wild state of flux it had been in since the competition began suddenly calmed to a steady beat. The chakra of the Kyuubi was forced out of the system of the blonde boy as a flash of crimson light. The Hyuuga girl closed in on the now waiting blonde. The Uzumaki was truly ready to fight now. This was the fight he had waited twenty five years to see. He leaned forward in anticipation.

* * *

Jiraiya finished painting the last of the symbols on Sasuke. The boy had sat there shivering while Jiraiya had done his work. There was not much else the Uchiha could do because of the explosive charge around his neck. The Hokage of Konoha sighed as he began the next step.

"Don't do this," Sasuke said in his normal voice to the sealing team. His tone made it sound like a command but Jiraiya ignored it. The people helping the Hokage also tuned out the boy's words. The decision had been made at levels far above their own.

Sasuke knew his vengeance would never come about if he let them seal his chakra. He wanted to fight this situation but he couldn't think of a way to escape the sealing alive. Even his pride could not accept this was truly happening to him but he refused to beg.

* * *

Rabbit charged up to Fox and made her first strike. Fox merely leaned to one side and allowed it to miss. His counterblow could have ended the fight right there but Rabbit blocked in an almost casual manner. She slid a few feet past him and spun on one foot while the other dragged in the dirt in a circle around her to dampen the momentum of her charge. Dust flew up in an arc as the foot stopped Rabbit in a ready pose.

Fox stepped forward in a strike at her face but Rabbit parried and countered. Fox blocked and pulled back his arm as his foot snapped out at Rabbit's knee. She stepped closer and blocked down with her hand to push the blow off target. Fox could not make a strike from his position so he shifted his weight onto the foot he attacked with and spun around behind Rabbit.

Rabbit shifted and made a back kick at Fox's stomach only to have it blocked. She pushed off the block to spin her body further out from Fox and fell back into a ready stance.

The crowd cheered from the quick exchange of blows.

Fox recalled a sequence he had used months before in his spars with Neji and began attacking. His attack pushed Rabbit onto defense while Fox pushed hard to make his blows get connect. But this quickly stopped as Rabbit countered with her own unique Water Fist variant to get inside his guard. Fox grunted as Rabbit closed a pair of tenketsu in his stomach. He spun in a high kick to break free of her counterattack and create some space between them once more.

'Most of what I learned fighting Neji is not going to work here,' Fox thought. 'Rabbit's style is based on moving around attacks and getting inside the guard while classic Gentle Fist stands firm against attacks. I need something new.'

'A good solid hit,' thought Rabbit. 'Fox will be trying more long range attacks now. I need to keep close to him.'

The combatants circled slowly, each reacting to the motions of the others. Genin in the audience were waiting for more action but the more experienced ninja were seeing the subtle things in the movement. Attacks were being considered, felt out and countered before even being set into motion. Rabbit would slide her foot forward a few inches to prepare for a rush but Fox slid a few inches to his left to be ready to block and counter. Fox shifted his weight from one foot to the other and Rabbit changed her stance slightly in reply.

This dance of subtle movement continued for long minutes as the pair matched wits as well as skill. He decided that he would not win this in a head to head taijutsu match. So, Fox leaped backwards and ran through hand signs to launch a wind jutsu at Rabbit. Rabbit replied with a mud wall to deflect the wind in spite of her affinity being for water.

* * *

The Raikage nodded impressed. If more Hyuuga would learn ninjutsu to compliment their impressive taijutsu, they would be a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

Fox finished his wind blast and created a half dozen plain bunshin before he landed.

Rabbit smirked as her Byakugan allowed her to see in spite of the wall in front of her. The 'ears' of her mask hid the tell tale veins her clan bloodline showed while it was active. Once the wind finished she cancelled the wall. Fox expected her to fall for thinking they were shadow clones and attack only to discover too late they were not solid.

Rabbit charged to close the distance once more. The clones all moved in to block her but she ran through them without pause. She struck the surprised Fox squarely in the chest. But the surprise became hers when 'Fox' vanished in a puff of chakra smoke. 'This one was a shadow clone,' she thought.

Hands gripped her ankles and she was pulled into the dirt of the arena floor. 'Headhunter jutsu,' she thought. 'He tricked me.'

Before she could be pulled completely down, she flared her chakra into the start of a Kainten. The dirt was pushed away from her body and kept her arms from becoming trapped. Her hands flashed through the seals for a kawarmi with a senbon she had thrown earlier. The jutsu took a lot of her chakra due to size difference but it was better than the immediate loss of the fight. Rabbit staggered slightly at the loss of most of her chakra at once.

Fox emerged from the ground after his failed attempt at trapping Rabbit but he pressed his current advantage. He charged into the girl's range as she faked being unprepared. He missed with an obvious strike that left himself open to a counterblow with her Water Fist. Rabbit realized her mistake once her hand was in motion. Fox's knee got through her guard and impacted her solar plexus. She completed her own strike in spite of the pending hit with a little extra chakra behind it so he could not follow up on his advantage.

Both combatants stumbled back from the exchange. Rabbit could barely breathe under the mask. Fox was trying not to vomit from the chakra points in his stomach being closed down again. He had completely dropped his guard.

Rabbit saw her chance and shifted into a standard Gentle Fist stance. Behind her mask she muttered, "Hakke Sanjūni Shō" and attacked. The more formalized attack that she had used unintentionally years before served her again. Her hands blurred as she struck 32 of Fox's tenketsu points completely blocking his chakra in his arms and legs but stopping short of killing him outright.

Fox felt the strikes hitting him but could do nothing to stop them after the initial hit. As his body began falling to the ground, he knew he could release and flare the Kyuubi's chakra to overcome the attack. But that would mean going against his word. The ground rushed up at him.

Hinata took a deep breath and stepped up to the fallen Naruto and placed a kunai along his neck.

The jonin referee called out, "Winner, Hyuuga Hinata."

* * *

The crowd was stunned to silence as they saw a tiny Hyuuga defeat her opponet simply by poking at him.

The Raikage arched an eyebrow at the conclusion of the fight. It was not quite the fight he had hoped for but it was a quality one nonetheless. He leaned over to Tsunade,"Interesting student you have there. With the power at his disposal, he could have easily overcome that attack and won this fight. I am surprised that he didn't."

Tsunade smiled, "He gave his word, Raikage-dono. He said he would not use the power he contains and he meant it. You saw the natural ability level of Uzumaki Naruto in that fight. I am sure your own ninja briefed you on her encounter outside Konoha. If he used the bijuu's power, he could have filled the stadium with shadow clones and overwhelmed her. But he abided by the restriction that he set on himself. If I recall correctly, few jinchuuriki have real skills equal to their rank without using the bijuu they contain. Naruto has tried his entire life to be seen as who he is, not what he holds prisoner."

The Raikage nodded, "As I said at your arrival, he has earned his rank. As far as power goes, I know he could give my baby brother a run for his money but would eventually lose as my brother _does_ have the training to match his rank."

Once he finished speaking to Tsunade, the Raikage stood and applauded the match. The crowd followed their leader and did so as well.

* * *

Down on the floor of the arena, Hinata was shocked to hear the appluase. It had begun slowly but increased steadily. She pulled off her mask and smiled down at Naruto. She focused and lightly poked each of the closed tenketsu points with a burst of healing chakra to open them back up.

"Ow, ow ow," Naruto grumbled as he felt the pain of each touch run through his body.

Slowly, Naruto pulled off his own mask before climbing to his feet. The medics back off when he stood and Hinata draped his arm over her shoulder to help him off the arena floor. The brought on greater cheering from the jonin and a few whistles from the teenagers. Hinata blushed but smiled as she helped Naruto hobble off.

The Cloud ninja in the waiting area all gave the pair some room and looked at Hinata warily. One had the stupidity to whisper, "He threw the fight," to a friend. Naruto stood up and painfully walked over to the Cloud genin. All of his friends back away from the boy.

"What did you say?" he growled out at the teen.

The teen had pulled some courage out from somewhere, "I said you threw the fight. I was there last night. I saw what you can do. That was no way you fought at your top stength today."

"Are you deaf too?" Naruto hissed out as he moved forward. The Cloud genin backed up but found his back against a wall. Naruto closed in to within an inch of the boy's nose and glared. "I gave my word to your Raikage that I would not use that other power and I kept it. Without it, I can't beat Hinata in a fair fight because she is that good. The only move I had that I can stop her with is an assassination jutsu. I will not use one of those on a comrade or in a simple rank test."

The blonde boy stopped holding back the chakra of the Kyuubi and it rushed back into his system. Even a genin could feel it from inches away. The smell of urine filled the air as the Cloud genin lost control of his bodily functions. He whimpered and whispered in a strained voice, "I apologize. I was wrong."

"Accepted," Naruto said as he turned to walk back to Hinata.

Sakura chuckled as she leaned over to whisper in Hinata's ear. "You do realize that he is acting just like a jealous boyfriend. He did the same thing last night against that jonin."

Hinata blushed and made a small squeak.

"You two should really stop dancing around the issue and just come out and be boyfriend / girlfriend so the rest of us can stop pretending you're not. The only people who haven't seen it already are you two," Sakura finished and went to leave Hinata and Naruto alone while she got ready for her first fight.

* * *

Jiraiya finished the proceedure. Sasuke slumped down in the sealing array. It was done.

An ANBU removed the explosive collar from Sasuke's neck and took it away. The restraint was no longer needed.

Sasuke reached for his chakra but he could not draw on it. He tried over and over but nothing happened. He had thought he could overcome the power of the seal Jiraiya had come up with. He was an Uchiha after all. The seconds ticked off as he tried everything he could think of but even the pulse of the curse seal was gone.

His deranged mind finally grasped the situation clearly. He was powerless now. Even an Uchiha had limits. His mind could not longer hold onto his own illusions of superiority.

For the first time since his clan was killed, Uchiha Sasuke cried.

Jiraiya stood in silence as he watched Sasuke's attempts to draw his chakra but knew the boy was not going to succeed. He wished there had been another way but it was choosing between the boy's life and his death. Jiraiya hated needless death and for him this was the lesser of two evils.

The Hokage motioned for the medics to come over and take the boy. Perhaps the mental health department could help Sasuke now. He would welcome a sane Uchiha as a civilian one day, but never again would this Uchiha be a ninja in Konoha.

* * *

Back in the Cloud village, the second round of the Finals began. Sakura got into position and waited until the referee called for the match to begin. The handsome Cloud genin she faced had a sneer on his face.

"Why do I have to face this pathetic girl?" he had whined. "She can't be serious. I mean pink hair? Who in their right mind has _pink_ hair? Not only that, she is ugly and she has a huge forehead."

A number of fan girls in the crowd swooned at the boy's tone. It was easy to see that this had an effect on Sakura. She was going to humiliate this boy. The referee signaled the fight to begin and wisely moved further back than he had for any other match. The look of anger on Sakura's face was plan.

The Cloud genin smirked as he thought his taunts had the effect he wanted. 'The girl should be so enraged she will react poorly,' he thought.

Sakura rushed at the boy who stood in a ready stance. He exuded confidence and felt he should win quickly. He struck but was shocked when Sakura merely caught his punch and squeezed his hand. With her strength jutsu, she crushed the bones in his hand easily. The evil grin on her face made the boy think he had just made a huge mistake. Before he could give up, Sakura punched him in the jaw and spun the boy around.

She flashed through hand signs. "Medical Arts: Constipation Relief." She dropped to one knee behind the boy and thrust her hand at his rectum. A flash of green light followed by a shout one would expect from a small child. Sakura backed off as the jutsu took effect.

Her opponent lost control of his functions as her 'attack' worked quite well. The sound was not pleasant and followed by a large brown stain in his pants. The boy grabbed his butt and ran for the exit.

"Winner, Haruno Sakura," the referee announced as Sakura bowed to the Raikage box and strolled back to the waiting area. She made sure to wash her hands several times and burnt her gloves.

* * *

Tsunade could barely hold in her laughter. The Raikage looked over at her. "Interesting technique. I have never seen a medical jutsu used in that manner before," was all he said on it.

* * *

The next match was forfeited by the boy who had made the comment to Naruto.

The third match of the second round took over a half hour as the boy and girl involved first fought with taijutsu then cast low powered jutsu at one another. Neither one was overpowering but their stamina was impressive. Eventually, the boy won the match. He got more applause for helping the girl up and back to the waiting area.

Hinata came back for her second round match. She decided to leave her mask off for the match. She faced the girl with a dark glare that could have done Neji proud. The girl could only think of how Hinata had taken apart Naruto and was shaking badly. The referee signaled for the match to start.

Hinata slid forward slowly as the kunoichi she was facing frantically threw kunai and shuriken at her. Hinata closed to within five feet of her opponent when she spoke in a low voice, "I can beat you easily right now, but I can tell you are better than this. Fight me. Show your leader that you are worth his time to watch," she said.

The kunoichi jumped back from Hinata and made the hand signs for a lightning jutsu. "Lightning Blade," she called out as the girl pulled out a kodachi. The short sword was covered in lightning chakra as she swung at Hinata. Her skill at swordsmanship was better than with her throwing weapons. She managed to force Hinata onto a defense but the Hyuuga heir parried or dodged each cut. Hinata made the battle drag out nearly five minutes by mainly avoiding the attacks with enough offense to make it look like she was going too easy on the Cloud girl.

Once Hinata felt she had seen enough of the girl's skills she went on offense. She waited until the tiring girl over extended a swing and struck at the tenketsu points in her arms. The lack of chakra made the energy on the blade fade to nothing.

Hinata followed with a leg sweep and then set a kunai on the neck of the flattened girl. The girl conceded before the referee could call the match for Hinata. The Hyuuga then put away the knife and held out her hand to the Cloud kunoichi to help her to her feet. The crowd appreciated the gesture and cheered loudly.

* * *

The Raikage stroked his chin before applauding. He was impressed by Hinata and thought that while his predecessor had acted rashly, the addition of the Byakugan would have been a benefit for Cloud. He also liked seeing the Hyuuga girl had a sense of fair play in addition to skills. Hinata had allowed her opponent for show off her skills for the crowd. His genin would not gain promotion this time but the kunoichi had potential worth watching. A quick loss would have prevented that.

These Konoha ninja were always strange to him. On one hand, they were highly skilled and had unseemingly high requirements for chunin and jonin ranks. They were strong and cunning in battle but did what was necessary to win. But when the battle was over, they were kind to the people who were not their enemies. Recent news of some Sound genin captured in the invasion of Konoha being given a second chance as Leaf ninja had made him think. This was against the things he was taught as a boy; once enemies were always enemies. But perhaps he could have enough time for his plan to emulate some aspects of the Leaf within Cloud would come to pass. Perhaps once enemies could be made into friends

The referee called for a half hour break until the semi finals.

* * *

Next Chapter: Cloud Exam Finals

* * *

**End Notes:  
**Not a lot to say on this one. Some of the fighting parts were difficult to write. I tried to picture it in my mind and I hope I did not pull out any moves that didn't flow through natural motion. The whole finding a proper mental state is something martial artists and professional athletes work on. I remember my days of running track in high school had a lot of that. You need focus to run hurdles and find your steps.

The semis and finals next time. Will Sakura face Hinata or will one of the cloud genin pull an upset?

**Review Notes:  
**There are a lot of reviews that need addressing this time. I did not answer that many directly so I want to here.

To people who complain about politics affecting a decision. There are _always_ politics. You cannot escape them.

Welcome to Ikasury, he left a number of reviews on this story and on some of my others. He pointed out to me that even canon waffles on how well Naruto heals. The simple cut from Anko in canon was still there after more than an hour but the hand sealed up quickly. Makes you wonder.

To HinatayShikamaru, the seal holding the Kyuubi in Naruto is something completely different from ones holding other bijuu. The Fourth called upon the death god to seal the Kyuubi with the intent of the demon being held forever and dying with Naruto one day. Other jinchuuriki are intended as weapons and their seals reflect that. The Ichibi, Shukaku had been sealed into and removed from other hosts before Gaara. The Sanbi had that type of seal and once it was not holding the bijuu in, the demon would be free once it pulled itself back together. Hinata has also developed something similar to her Protection jutsu from the filler; her Arms of the Dancing Asp attack seen in my Wave Arc. The tonfa were not intended to replace anything but rather to expand on their knowledge and be something they could do as a team.

Timewise, the Cloud exams would be roughly 2 to 3 months after the end of the 'filler' episodes of the anime. A number of the incidents in those did not happen or were dealt with by other teams and some were mentioned in passing.

To PKHenkel, the Raikage in my story is not spoiling for a war. He is actually trying to avoid one. The attack by the Sound remnant was a deliberate attack on the Konoha genin. It was a terrorist attack plain and simple. The issue with the scrolls was him trying to gain some advantage for his village out of something that had no other value. They had kept the scrolls for 25 years hoping there was something good on them but they _did_ belong to the Cloud, not to Naruto. His offer was fair. The part of having Naruto destroy them was a test of the boy's character. He gave Naruto the original of the Uzumaki genealogy but I am certain the Cloud had a copy made of that. Bee was a party crasher but I felt the Raikage put him in his place handily enough. Naruto made the death offer not the Raikage.

To Julius Noon, I also say to you, go read the manga. In the VotE, Sasuke was disappointed his Chidori missed Naruto's heart right before snapping the blonde's neck. It is kind of hard to miss the killing intent on that one. Yes, Sasuke left Naruto alive without a third attempt but my opinion is that was more due to Kishimoto getting hate mail from Sasuke lovers over the earlier attempts. They didn't want their precious being seen as the irredeemable traitor he is. Although I must say if he tries to redeem Sasuke now, that would write FAIL on the entire series.

A number of people were complaining that Naruto and Hinata fighting in the first round is cliché but they _are_ in the same exam and will have to fight at some point during it if both keep winning their own fights. I actually pulled numbers out of a hat to get the placement for the exams. I did intend for Naruto and Hinata to fight but I originally intended to have it happen in the finals. I felt the first round did neither a service but that was how I pulled it so I went with that because life is not fair.

**Personal Stuff:  
**For people hoping for my next chapter of Runaway Hokage, it should be out inside of a week. The kiddo having softball practice nearly everyday cuts deep into my writing time.

Chapter Posted 07/06/09.


	35. Cloud Exams Finals

It has been a while since I have updated this one. I could give all kinds of excuses but the simple one is I had not had any inspiration to write on this one. I wanted to finish but when I would open up my working copy, my mind would blank out.

I do thank everyone who waited around for this chapter. It seems the 'half hour break' took nearly a year.

**

* * *

**

Cloud Exam Finals

The Raikage looked over to Tsunade. "The Hyuuga girl is quite impressive," he commented.

Tsunade nodded in reply. "She is at that. My own vote would be for her to make chunin if I was one of the judges. Honestly, the whole team has been ready for some time but politics came into play. After the exam in Konoha got interrupted and all the chaos there, promotions got put aside. A number of genin in our ranks proved they had the skills needed but only needed a bit more experience before getting promoted. We expect a number of non exam related promotions to be happening soon."

The Raikage nodded. The business side of being a ninja was all about getting the jobs. His village was going to take a pounding in the reputation department when the last two Leaf ninja found themselves in the finals. He would not kid himself otherwise. This year, the Cloud genin getting this far the tournament were just not that good. Then he got an idea.

"Tsunade-dono, I would be foolish not to realize the final will be between your students. How about we change things and give everyone something to cheer about?"

* * *

Sakura, Hinata and Naruto were all sitting in the competitor booth relaxing when an announcement came from the speakers.

'_Attention please. There will be a change in the program. The semi finals and finals will be replaced by a special fight between the Leaf ninja and a team of our own. The Raikage will speak before the bouts in about fifteen minutes. All people who made wagers on the semi finals and finals can get refunds at the box office. New wagers will be accepted at that time as well.'_

The three genin all looked at one another as Tsunade walked in to explain what as going on.

Sakura was the most vocal and spoke up before Tsunade could begin.

"Tsunade-sensei, why did they cancel things? I barely got to fight at all!"

"Relax Sakura. The Raikage made a suggestion to me as the person in charge of all three of you. He realized his remaining genin didn't measure up when compared to your three and the finals would end up being Hinata against Sakura. Since he loves a good fight, he made a proposal that would make the Cloud look good."

"First of all, congratulations, all three of you made chunin. To forestall any political complications back in Konoha, the Raikage will announce it here in front of the daimyos in attendance. Those old farts back in Konoha won't be able to hold you back this time Naruto." Tsunade smiled at the shocked blonde.

The three teens looked stunned at Tsunade for a few moments as her words sunk in. Then Naruto let out a whoop of joy shouting, "I made chunin!" The girls just smiled at each other as Naruto stood up and did a strange victory dance that left the both laughing.

Tsunade let Naruto have his moment for almost two minutes before calling it to an end.

"Since you are all getting promoted and the people here are spoiling to see at least one more good fight, they are going to get one. You three are going to fight as a team in a special match against a chunin team from Cloud. The only rules are it is a prisoner match. You don't go out of your way to kill someone if they are already down and Naruto cannot use the Kyuubi chakra outside of his body."

"The Raikage only did this to make his village look better and not have this Final be a Konoha blowout. Plus, by promoting you in public before the crowd you all just performed in front of will give him additional points with the daimyos. He is going to get a lot of 'face' out of this move, no matter what happens to the three of you. Most of them have little choice to do their business with the Cloud so Konoha doesn't stand to lose much anyhow."

"I have no clue to what kind of team you three will be facing but I know it will be a strong and capable one. They will be experienced and likely closer to being jonin than to being genin. Just don't get hurt and do your best."

The members of Team Apprentice all nodded seriously to Tsunade then turned to each other to start making plans.

* * *

The Raikage stood up in his box to address the crowd.

"Revered daimyos, honored guests, ninja and people of the Cloud village; I thank you all for coming to this tournament. As you have seen already, the trio of Leaf ninja visiting us have been exemplary fighters. I polled the judges and all three have already been voted to advance as chunin. As pitting chunin against genin would not be that fair; their sensei, Senju Tsunade of the Leaf has agreed that they will participate in a special match against one of our best chunin teams. The remaining two semi-finalists will face each other prior to this special finale. Then the Leaf team will fight against Team Samui."

The assembled ninja cheered at the hope of seeing another high quality fight. The fight between Hinata and Naruto was already considered to be one of the top ten fights for a Chunin Exam in Cloud. Both of them in a battle on the same side against some of their best would be something to see. The gambling members of the crowd surged to the betting windows to place their bets on the new matches.

* * *

Jiraiya walked into his office and sat down heavily. The sealing of both Sasuke's chakra and curse seal had been draining for him. But it was finally out of the way. Now he could address other issues. The paperwork was no longer out of control with the addition of a second secretary who sorted out the files before they were brought to him. D-rank mission completion and no incident guard duty reports were only on a tally sheet that he looked at once each morning. Those files never touched his desk unless he asked for them. That took care of more than half the daily paperwork alone.

With the paperwork tamed, it would leave him with some additional free time each day. He took out his list of items of importance to himself. His quiet attempts at breaking the seals on the Root members Kakashi had bullied Danzo into providing after the Invasion had gone nowhere. It would take killing the man to remove those seals. The old war hawk had been avoiding everyone of late but Jiraiya was not fooled by his silence. The man was simply biding his time. At the moment, the man was a non issue. Jiraiya knew the man's general plans paralleled his own, make Konoha stronger than it currently is.

Ibiki had informed the Hokage personally that a small number of Sound genin captured had been discovered missing from the prison mines. It had the appearance of an inside job but there were no leads. Something like that had the feel of trouble all over it. He made a note to tell Ibiki to keep following up on that. He made a new note to screen people as a replacement spymaster. While he was Hokage, someone else would need to fill that role for Konoha.

Jiraiya sighed and looked at his next item. Naruto's training and the note he had left himself about Naruto wanting to buy land for a house. Chuckling, he went to his drawer and pulled out the ledger of the boy's accounts. Old Sarutobi had done wonders with the boy's money before he died. Naruto had told Jiraiya about his owning his apartment building. The current Hokage had been amazed at what his old sensei had accomplished.

The boy not only had ownership of his apartment building but also a stake in the expansion of Ichiraku's into a full fledged restaurant the year before. Old Teuchi had always wanted funds to expand for years but the man would never accept the conditions that would go along with any loan. Sarutobi had made inquiries in the months after the Sannin had begun teaching and used Naruto's money to invest in the ramen stand's menu expansion and later into the larger building that was being constructed. The boy had a one third ownership of the new restaurant but was not aware of the fact yet.

Jiraiya scanned down the list of minor businesses that the crafty old man had invested in. A number of stores that had positive feelings toward the boy were benefiting from business loans out of Naruto's money. The lawyer who handled all the transactions was a non ninja member of the Sarutobi clan and believed in both Hiruzen and Naruto. A note in the file also let Jiraiya know the man was aware of Naruto's lineage and would not cheat the son of the Yondaime.

Satisfied, Jiraiya pulled out one of his oldest notebooks. The parcel number of a plot of land he had control over since the death of his favorite pupil was transcribed onto a new deed and stamped with the seal of the Hokage. The Toad Sage filled out a few other needed papers to go along with the deed and applied his seal once more. Naruto now officially owned his parents' small house.

* * *

The fight between the remaining pair of Cloud genin was far from memorable. It took all of five seconds. The boy from the half hour long match simply fell over unconscious from exhaustion when the proctor said 'Begin'. He had not wanted to forfeit and showed up just to pass out.

The winner just waved slowly at the scattered applause when he was announced the victor. He looked around lamely then headed off.

The main event was announced to massive applause. Naruto walked in front with Sakura and Hinata flanking him on either side. The trio were dressed in their 'serious' outfits. Anko had joked once or twice that they were war dress but Tsunade and Jiraiya just say 'No, its not'. Naruto was in black and dark burnt orange, Hinata was wearing dark blues and purples. Sakura had added a long sleeved shirt under her battle dress.

From the other side of the arena came the Cloud team. Karui and Omoi wore fairly standard Cloud ninja uniforms. Samui was dressed differently in a loose blouse over a chain mail undershirt. The outfit did little to hide her appearance or bountiful cleavage.

"Hey, did Tsunade Baa-chan have a kid and not tell anyone?" Naruto commented with a smirk as Samui came close enough to see both her features and 'chakra reserves'. Sakura smacked the back of his head while Hinata glanced down at her own chest and pouted.

'Sorry Kushina, the boy dies,' thought Tsunade.

"One last time, this is a standard exam rules match with one exception. This is a prisoner match. Begin!" he yelled as he jumped out of the way.

Naruto acted first as he immediately made a hand sign and called out over a dozen shadow clones. The resulting chakra smoke took the sight of the other team away. In the seconds it took to disperse, the female members of Team Apprentice had disappeared.

* * *

Samui was highly displeased to be in this match. She had been enjoying the downtime and some of the early matches had been amusing. The pink haired Leaf girl had even made her chuckle with the medical jutsu attack on that genin. Then the heavy odds of a Leaf only final had made the Raikage propose _this_ farce. The blonde nuisance even compared her to that Sannin and had the gall to say she might be her daughter.

Omoi pulled a new lollypop out of his belt and slipped it into his mouth. A fight always made him want a fresh one. "You realize if we don't put on a good fight, the Leaf will go to war with us and conquer our village and it will be all our fault," he said in a lazy voice.

"Shut up, you idiot," Karui yelled. She pulled out her sword and glared as the copies of the blonde Leaf ninja before them charged. Her first swing was blocked for a moment before her strength forced the clone's shadow weapon to give way and the clone vanished in a puff of chakra smoke.

A half dozen clones standing further pack cast jutsu at Team Samui. Several air bullets and water bullets closed in but the swordsmanship of Karui and Omoi dispersed the attacks. Samui just watched with narrowed eyes as she analyzed the attacks.

"Karui, go after the clone back left at your 10. Omoi, go after the clone front right at your 3. I have the stupid looking one at my 12. The rest just destroy if they get in your way," she ordered

The Cloud ninja attacked as their leader said and in moments a pair of the Naruto clones changed back into Hinata and Sakura as they were forced to defend themselves.

"You should imitate the body language of your stupid looking teammate better if you try to hide as one of his clones, little girls," Samui said with an amused tone in her voice as she charged the blonde boy.

The crowd roared in approval as a trio of individual fights erupted between the teams.

* * *

Omoi pressed Hinata back with short sword strikes. Each time she made a standard Gentle Fist counterattack, the boy's blade was waiting. 'He knows how to defend against a Hyuuga. That is bad if potential enemies can defend themselves,' the girl thought. She shifted her stance and her defense slightly into her Flowing Fist.

Omoi was feeling confident. The training against specific forms of Leaf taijutsu the Cloud had drilled for years was coming in handy now. The Raikage might not be trying to actively gain the Byakugan but he made sure that his ninja could defend against it. It made a lot of sense due to the fact that the Leaf was the closest great nation to the Cloud.

He almost missed a step when the small girl shifted her stance but it was still the Gentle Fist moves he could recognize. That thought quickly was discarded when Hinata attacked once more. He would give her a blow strong enough to capture her but also enough to let her know he could kill her if he wanted to.

Hinata slid past Omoi's defenses as if they didn't exist. Several chakra laced blows struck his arms and chest before he could get out of her range. He had to gasp a few times to make sure his left lung still worked properly. 'She has something similar to the Gentle Fist but she strikes completely different. She relies on speed and finesse a lot more than other Hyuuga,' he thought. 'If not for my vest being resistant to another person's chakra; that last strike would have shut down my lung long enough to knock me out.'

He jumped back to catch his breath and ponder his next move.

* * *

Sakura dodged a sword strike by Karui. The pink haired teen knew she would not be able to withstand the attacks without some defense. She pulled her father's long kunai from the sheath at the small of her back and took a stance with it.

"Ooooo, little girl brought a knife to a sword fight," Karui taunted. "I'm getting all tingly with fear."

Sakura knew how to play these head games as well. "You should be afraid. This knife in my hand made me the only non Uchiha in a generation to cut an Uchiha with an active Sharingan," Sakura countered.

Karui hesitated for a moment before chuckling. "Oh, as if a girl like you could cut an Uchiha. It's not like you have a lot of those left in your tree hugging village."

Sakura in turn just make an Anko style smirk. "I knew I should have listened to Anko-sensei and left the blood on it under a cover of varnish." The teen could feel her bravado withering the longer she had to keep it up so she pulled some shuriken with her free hand and hurled them at Karui.

The dark skinned redhead sidestepped the stars and attacked once more. She kept quiet as Sakura dodged her strikes. The girl kept using her kunai in a manner that showed she knew how to use it. The threat of a counter disabling her sword arm kept Karui from pressing too hard with her sword thrusts.

Karui quickly grew frustrated at the pink hair teen's dodging ability. The Cloud ninja had no clue of Sakura's training in dodging the various species of snakes and wads of acidic slug spittle. She backed off slightly to come up with a new plan.

* * *

Naruto saw Samui rushing his position and called out another dozen shadow clones to intercept her. The buxom blonde woman simply plowed through the clones of the boy with little apparent effort on her part. The crowd could not see the electrified kunai she had in each hand which would shock the clones and disrupt them. She burst out of a cloud of dispersing chakra smoke to make the original Naruto dodge her swing. She pressed her attack giving Naruto no chance to create more clones or counterattack.

Naruto was surprised at how quickly these chunin were taking control of the match. Tsunade had said they would be practically jonin but this team had fallen for nothing so far. His clones had given him an idea of what was happening with Sakura and Hinata. He needed to get away from this blonde woman in order to strike back.

'Physically, I cannot keep up with this boy much longer,' Samui thought. 'With his power as a jinchuuriki, he could stand up to Bee. I must attack his weakest spot; his mind. She ran through a series of hand signs and called out a fake Raiton jutsu name to cover her genjutsu.

_The genjutsu began as a series of smoky explosion and a feeling of static electricity on his skin. The smoke enveloped him quickly. He tried to jump away from the cloud he was in. He landed and looked around confused. Naruto found himself still in a foggy white area with smoke blowing past him. He quickly looked from side to side when a voice called out to him._

"_Naruto-kun," a ghostly voice that sounded like Hinata called out._

"_Hinata?" he replied. He turned to see a near naked Hinata standing there._

"_Naruto-kun," crooned the vision. "I need you Naruto-kun. Make me yours."_

_The girl pressed her scantily clad body against him and he felt a hand groping hi. The other grabbed the back of his head and pulled closer it to her face, her lips pressing against his lustfully, her tongue begging entrance into his mouth._

"_Hinata? What are you doing? Where are your clothes?" Naruto called out after the genjutsu Hinata had finished the kiss and pulled her tongue from his mouth._

* * *

"Hinata? What are you doing? Where are your clothes?" Naruto called out.

Hinata heard Naruto call out and missed a step. Omoi responded with a kick that sent her skidding on her back in the dirt of the arena floor. She couldn't do more than focus some of her attention through her Byakugan to see Naruto standing still. Her bloodline revealed the foreign chakra in his system. He was under the effects of a genjutsu with Samui getting ready to knock him out. She unsealed both of her tonfa, forcing some chakra into each to make throwing them easier. Then with a graceful twirl, hurled one at Samui and one at Naruto. The wooden weapons flew like senbon at their respective targets.

Samui noticed the tonfa soon enough to avoid a head strike. It was enough to disrupt her concentration on the genjutsu. Naruto took a hit to the chest with a slight flash of released chakra from the tonfa. He looked around with a blush on his face before Samui kicked him in the back of the head. His stunned body fell limply to the dirt floor of the arena.

* * *

Sakura dodged another sword strike and finally saw an opening. The teen parried the sword with her kunai but let go of the weapon once it had engaged the hilt of Karui's sword. Karui was over-balanced by this and shifted her weight slightly as her pressure had no resistance. Sakura grabbed the wrist of dark girl with the now free hand and hit the swordswoman with a chakra enhanced fist to the forearm. The strike broke both major bones cleanly and made the Cloud ninja drop her sword. The follow up blow to the face knocked the red headed woman back about five yards. Sakura picked up her father's kunai and sheathed it at the small of her back once more. Karui tossed enough shuriken to force Sakura to retreat enough to recover her own sword.

The crowd roared at the action. Sakura and Samui eyed each other while circling around to their fallen teammates. Naruto was not quite out of things but he was stunned from the kick. Hinata in turn forced Omoi back once more and took the opportunity to move over to her team. The girls grabbed Naruto and retreated to the furthest point in the arena they could. Samui and Omoi did the same with Karui.

* * *

Sakura applied a quick first aid jutsu to speed Naruto's recovery while Hinata stood guard.

"The redhead has a broken sword arm," she informed Hinata and Naruto.

"The boy is a good swordsman who seems familiar with Konoha taijutsu and the blonde woman used genjutsu on Naruto," Hinata supplied.

"Um, Hinata looked really pretty naked," Naruto said half coherently not realizing what he was saying.

Sakura was really tempted to finish the knockout Samui had begun after that comment while Hinata's blush would have glowed in the dark.

"Focus, Naruto-kun. We are still in the middle of a battle," Hinata said in a low voice. Now she was not sure she wanted to know everything the blonde had shown her boyfriend.

"Huh? Whoa, my head hurts," the boy stammered out when Sakura finished her healing jutsu.

Sakura outlined a plan she had come up with.

* * *

"Both sides took some damage there, Tsunade," the Raikage said.

"True, but I think your team took a bit more. The blow Sakura used on your ninja could have easily destroyed her sword arm permanantly. She pulled it because this is not a match of enemies," Tsunade said with a nod.

The Raikage nodded. He knew Karui would not be recovering from that broken arm quickly. Her teammates only knew basic first aid. He could see the pink haired girl applying medical jutsu to the Uzumaki boy. The fight would continue soon with his ninja at a disadvantage.

* * *

Karui cursed under her breath while Samui tied the splint on her arm. None of the three knew enough medical techniques to do any more than that. "The pinkie knows some of Tsunade's strength techniques," she hissed out of clenched teeth.

"That fits. She barely used anything during her match so none of us knew for certain," Samui calmly responded.

Omoi pulled his lollipop from his mouth asking, "Will you be able to fight?"

Karui lifted her sword with her other hand in reply.

"Karui, go after the Hyuuga. Stall her as much as you can. Omoi, you take the boy. I'll work on the pink girl," Samui commanded.

The team headed back toward the Leaf ninja.

* * *

The team was prepared to follow Sakura's plan when a number of explosive tagged kunai landed in their midst. Naruto and Hinata jumped off in one direction while Sakura went the other.

Sakura rolled back to her feet to find the blonde Samui attacking her. The pink kunoichi defended herself from a furious taijutsu assault. Sakura knew this woman was not as skilled as Tsunade or Anko but the unfamiliar up close style kept Sakura on the defensive. She was lucky so far as she had not really fought before this. She tried different counters to the attacks but Samui's greater experience easily dealt with those.

The blonde stepped back and launched a dozen senbon at Sakura; who managed to dodge most of them. A pair lodged into the teen's thigh. The spot burned for a moment before it was numbed.

'A toxin of some kind,' Sakura realized as she prepared to apply medical treatment. The numbed area was spreading rapidly but Samui attacked once more before Sakura could deal with it. The teen fought desperately but her numbed leg hindered her defense and prevented her from jumping away. Sakura blocked another series of taijutsu attacks but her lack of mobility eventually allowed Samui to hit her to the ground. Once Sakura was down, Samui hurled another handful of senbon flew at her face. All Sakura could do was protect her eyes. Most of the needles clanged off of the hidden forearm bracers but a slightly burning followed by numbness was felt in both arms. The toxin left Sakura unable to properly use her hands.

The blonde woman smiled coldly. "So, what are you afraid of little girl?" she asked rhetorically as she made some hand signs for a genjutsu. Sakura tried to for a release but her fingers would not form the hand signs.

Sakura screamed as she couldn't stop the illusions that invaded her mind. In her mind's eye, Hiro from the beach resort and Orochimaru were waiting for her; one to claim her body, the other to lay claim to her soul. In moments, the girl slid to the ground unconscious as her mind shut down. Samui picked up Sakura and carried her to the holding area.

* * *

"The first one to fall was one of yours," the Raikage noted. "I had expected it to go longer before anyone went down."

Tsunade nodded sagely. "There was a paralytic in those senbon apparently. Once Sakura lost her mobility she couldn't avoid further attacks with them. The experience of your team is making the difference. Sakura is very good but her lack of experience facing other village's ninja made the difference there."

The Raikage agreed.

* * *

Omoi was going after Naruto with his sword. Naruto grinned and had unsealed his own pair of tonfa. He held the left back along his forearm to protect it and the right in an attack position. The teens sparred like this feeling out the other's level of skill. Naruto knew he was overmatched by Omoi's sword work but hung on gamely. The tonfa were taking damage due to the skill difference until Omoi simply cut through the one in Naruto's right hand.

Naruto grumbled at losing one of his better quality tonfa. He had played according to the other person's rules long enough. He jumped into the air and made a hand sign to create a large number of shadow clones. They managed to dog pile on Omoi and hold him down until the real Naruto could knock him out with the same jaw popping punch he had given Sasuke on several occasions. The clones then carried the captive boy to the Leaf side holding area

The crowd was roaring its approval overriding the cries of some of Omoi's fangirls

* * *

Karui was being pressed hard by Hinata. She was not as good with her off hand for her sword work. She kept pushing Hinata back before the Hyuuga could close her tenketsu but it was getting more and more difficult with each flurry of attack and counter. Hinata charged once more as Karui tried to use her broken arm to support a strike until pain made her slip and alter the angle of the blade in mid-swing.

Hinata had been careful around all of the sword attacks until now. There were two things that made the Hyuuga Clan proud. The first was its Gentle Fist taijutsu. That was the item of pride most were familiar with. The one people were not commonly associating with the Hyuuga dealt with their hair. Few cared about that issue but, if it was brought up, it was noted that almost all Hyuuga ninja had long thick luxurious hair that would survive intact as a testament to their skill in battle.

Hinata had kept her hair short in back until after she had begun pranking with Naruto. In the nearly two years since that point, it had grown out and she kept it at about mid back length now. She had taken care to insure that it was safe. Her dodge to the side would have been more than enough to allow her hair to get clear. Karui's blade changing the angle of attack ruined those plans. Instead the blade nicked Hinata's right ear and sliced cleanly through the strands that trailed behind her head.

The end result was a section of hair missing when seen from the back; starting at her bleeding right ear down to about shoulder length in the middle. The left side remained untouched so there was a large length difference after the cut section fell to the ground.

Hinata and Karui both looked at the hewn strands in the dirt in silence for a moment while the women in the crowd gasped in horror.

Karui made the mistake of moving and drawing Hinata's attention. The redhead nearly wet herself at the look of fury on the tiny Hyuuga girl's face as killer intent washed over her. She could barely defend herself as Hinata assaulted with massively increased ferocity. Tenketsu point after tenketsu point was closed under Hinata's barrage until Karui could not flee. She pulled out some kunai with flash-bang notes attached and activated them when Hinata hit her arm. The kunai fell to the ground unnoticed by the enraged girl.

Karui went down just as the notes exploded and knocked out Hinata.

* * *

Naruto was rushing back from securing Omoi to see if he could help his fallen girlfriend when Samui got in between them.

"This fight isn't over yet, boy," she said as she began to cast another genjutsu at Naruto.

'I'm not in a mood to deal with this Tsunade wannabe right now,' he thought at the same moment. He swiped his hand over a trail of blood leaking from a cut from Omoi and made his own hand signs.

The jonin all knew the fight would be decided in the next few seconds.

"Magen: Hell Viewing," whispered Samui.

"Summoning Jutsu," yelled Naruto at the same moment.

Naruto felt the genjutsu tug at him but his flaring chakra overpowered the illusion and prevented it from taking hold. The chakra smoke of a summoning surrounded the pair on the arena floor.

For long seconds the smoke hung in place, before a breeze kicked in and helped it dissipate.

Naruto stood on the back of an elephant sized toad dressed in modified samurai armor and holding a very large sword looming over Samui on the ground.

"Say hello to my little friend," Naruto said to Samui.

"I surrender," was Samui's only reply as she eyed the large sword aimed at her throat.

The crowd all murmured in astonishment at seeing a toad summon while Tsunade just put her hand to her face and shook her head as the Raikage stood up.

Then the sound of a man clapping echoed across the arena. The crowd followed their leader and roared in appreciation for the battle.

* * *

Next Chapter: Homeward Bound

* * *

End Notes: The Hinata hair scene inspired by and modified from the Ranma ½ scene of Akane getting her hair chopped off.

A note to anyone who wants to comment on any ongoing revelations in Naruto from recent months. If I decide to include something that my plot has not touched on, I might consider them. If it conflicts with something I have already written, my fan fiction will not be modified to accommodate it.

The first seven chapters have been edited and replaced. There are no material changes, mainly just some spelling and grammar fixes

**Author appreciation:  
**I would also like to thank everyone who has read my stories. I have posted 7 stories to date; 2 being one shots, 1 completed story 'The Lost Ninja' and 4 stories still in progress. Across all stories in total, I have had over 1 million page views. I am both amazed and humbled that so many would want to read what I have written.

Posted 06/25/10


	36. Homeward Bound?

**Homeward Bound?**

The crowd roared in approval as the twelve genin in the finals all gathered down on the arena floor once more. The Raikage enjoyed this part. He knew something about people and being awarded a promotion in front of the crowd made for good publicity. First, he renewed his announcement of the promotion for Naruto, Sakura and Hinata as chunin. They were not given vests, as that was the option of their home village.

He signaled to one of his jonin who carried out a pair of Cloud vests. This got the crowd buzzing. The fights had not been overly impressive this year but only one came to mind. Sure enough, the boy and girl from the half hour long second round fight were given promotions. The applause was loud but not overwhelming. The Raikage gave both genin a nod of approval before closing the Exams. The next scheduled exam would be in the Sand village.

Tsunade chuckled at the promotions given to the Cloud genin. Both were solid but neither one really seemed worthy of chunin rank but she knew politics worked both ways. The Raikage was not going to let the only promotions be from a rival village when he was hosting the Exams.

Team Apprentice met Tsunade as they left the arena floor and headed to the embassy to pack for their return journey to Konoha. Naruto looked troubled the whole time before Tsunade asked what was wrong.

"Well, we all made chunin now. Does that mean we are going to get moved to other teams?" he asked in a less than enthusiastic tone.

Tsunade understood his worry right away. "No, Naruto. The three of you are going to remain a team for some time yet. Don't forget, Sarutobi planned on you three being a beacon of hope to Konoha or some such nonsense. We wouldn't want that plan to go wrong simply because he died."

Naruto smiled at the reassurance. Hinata and Sakura both breathed slightly easier as well. Neither of them wanted a new teammate just yet.

* * *

Once back in the embassy, Tsunade made a quick scan of all three of her students. Sakura needed just a little work to clean the last traces of the poison from her system. Tsunade made a few notes to add to her long list of toxins to find a counteragent for. The fear genjutsu Sakura could deal with but it had no lasting effects. Hinata got her cut ear attended to and healed instead of the basic bandage the medics at the arena had used. The slice had not been bad but Tsunade healed it without so much as a scar showing. The armor had prevented bruising. It had been the impact that of the explosions that had stunned Hinata during the battle.

"The hair I cannot do anything about, Hinata," Tsunade said sadly. "When we get back to Konoha, you can talk to Jiraiya and see what he can do for you. He uses a few hair based jutsu and I think he might have something that could help. Until then, all I can do is this." The blonde pulled out a brush and a ponytail scrunchie. Hinata nodded and started pulling the hair into a tail at the back of her head. The cut strands were long enough to reach there. She would have preferred a low one but it was impossible due to the angle of the cut strands. A high one would have left her hair looking like dark version of Ino's. She left the bangs and sideburns of her hime cut hanging loose as always.

She did a cursory scan of Naruto last. Sakura had done a good job and prevented any concussion, not that it would have lasted long on Naruto. She was looking for any after effects of the genjutsu on his mind. Sure enough, she found a trace of it in his head that would have made for some serious dream issues. The location it was in startled Tsunade as it was in the area that controlled libido. That was an area most genjutsu users never went near as pain and fear tended to be the primary uses of that ninja art.

"Naruto, what kind of genjutsu did that woman use on you?" she asked in an offhanded manner.

Naruto blushed like Hinata still did at times.

"Um, it was nothing really," he said while rubbing the back of his head.

Sakura chuckled evilly. "He did mention something about Hinata looking good naked after getting hit by it."

Hinata joined the blush parade now as Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Should I get Hiashi worried that you have been seeing his daughter naked?" she teased.

Hinata began to glow in a full body blush as Naruto paled at what the blonde woman was insinuating.

"But, I never saw her _naked_. Even the one in the genjutsu was wearing underwear! I didn't see anything! I mean I'm sure she would be pretty and all but I never tried to peep at her like Ero-sensei does at women …" Naruto babbled.

"Enough, Naruto," Tsunade said chuckling. "I was only teasing."

Hinata only focused on 'I'm sure she would be pretty' and went to sleep that night with a smile on her face.

* * *

The following morning, the team set out with little fanfare. They informed the gate guard of their intent to leave and a team escorted them down the mountain toward the border. As they were traveling as just a single team, they moved much faster out of the Land of Lightning than they had come in. Tsunade set the travel pace and they reached the border in only two days. Once free of their escort at the border, Tsunade decided to change the plans a bit. Instead of continuing west to Konoha she turned south along the coast. The group remained in the small country between the Land of Fire and Land of Lightning and stopped in the capital city.

"What are we going to do here, Tsunade-sensei?" Sakura asked when Tsunade checked them into a hotel.

Tsunade just grinned and replied, "Gamble."

"But we were supposed to head home after the exams, right?" Naruto asked puzzled.

The blonde haired Sannin glared at Naruto until he backed up.

"First of all gaki, we were not told to come straight home after the exams. Second, my teammate doesn't have the stones to give me such an order. He knows there is a long slow colonoscopy in his future if he tries to do it. Keep bugging me and I'll put you in for one."

Naruto blanched a bit at what his teacher said. He had learned exactly what that medical procedure was and wanted no part of one. He stayed following behind his teacher along with the girls. At last, the blonde woman stopped at her destination.

A casino.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Naruto muttered as the team trailed in behind their teacher.

* * *

Tsunade checked them into a three bedroom suiteafter several hours of losing on slot machines. She took the main bedroom with the girls having to share and Naruto in the last. The Sannin made sure the room was paid for out of Konoha's funds so her own would not be used up. The living room of the suite had comfortable chairs and the bathroom had separate washing and bathing areas with a hot tub.

"You kids get a small vacation while I get to join in a poker tournament they are having here starting tomorrow. It is a new game to the area called Texas Hold'em," Tsunade said with glee. She had promised Sensei she would not gamble herself back into debt but this was a simple poker tournament. It only took an entry fee. She had won more than enough at the Cloud betting on her kids to cover that small amount. She knew she would be fine as long as she kept out of the slot machine and pachinko rooms.

"First, you get paid a bonus for being in the exams," Tsunade said as she handed each teen a wad of cash. "I bet on all of you to get into the Finals and won so you get the benefits. Go buy yourselves some nice clothes to relax in. Next, if you wish to gamble, just show your ninja headbands to the floor boss and it will be allowed. You three are considered legal adults as long as you have those on you. Last, leave me alone and ignore any noises coming from my room."

The girls were excited about shopping and the amount of money Tsunade had given them. Naruto was a bit more skeptical at first.

"You bet on us at the Exams?" he asked. That question made the girls stop and listen in as well.

Tsunade smirked, "Yes, I did. I bet on you all as a team to advance to the Finals. I also bet on Sakura in her individual match and your team again in the special match. However, I did NOT bet on the match between Naruto and Hinata. As that one was a conflict of interest I could not reasonably bet on that one."

The teens were smiling slightly as Tsunade turned to head for the bathroom. "Dibs on the hot tub," she said. "Girls, you can join in but Naruto has to wait."

Naruto grumbled as he went to his room. He knew it would be a couple of hours before he could get washed up.

* * *

Naruto wandered down the street alone as he had ducked out on the girls as they were trying on kimonos in a high end shop. He was having enough trouble dealing with his thoughts about Hinata since that fight and he needed some time alone. He window shopped as he walked but he had no real interest in buying anything.

Instead, he looked at families as they enjoyed their lives together. His mind went back to the stories of his mother. The nickname of the 'fiery habanero' for his mother had him thinking. She had bright red hair but his was blonde. He learned enough from Tsunade to understand that meant his father had to be blonde as well. One thing he had not told Tsunade was something else he had found in his clan book. He was related to her as well. It was not close by any means but it was there. Her grandmother had been an Uzumaki, the wife of the First Hokage.

He sighed as he went to a park to sit. The townpeople had none of the glares he got back on Konoha. He was just another face in the crowd here. A nobody who no one was angry at. He stared at the clouds as they drifted past for more than an hour. He found he was lonely so he got up and headed back to the room at the casino.

Once inside the door of the casino, the press of people moving toward one of the larger halls caught his attention. The sign over the door listed it as registration for the poker tournament. He fingered the money in his pocket for a moment and decided.

* * *

Hinata twirled in the western style dress in the clothing boutique while Sakura looked on and guarded the previous purchases. The Hyuuga heiress was nervous as she had been greatly body shy for so long. However, Anko-sensei had worked on that large problem all throughout her training and it rarely came up any more. Clothes shopping was one of the rare times that her old insecurities reared up.

"You look great," Sakura commented. "The blue suits you, Hinata. Besides, Naruto would love to see your legs in that one. You should get it." 'Not to mention those enormous boobs you hide under your jacket. I wonder how a thirteen year old got so big?' she continued to herself as she looked down at her own less developed bust.

"You really think so?" Hinata said with a hint of pink on her cheeks. "But what about my hair, Sakura? The ponytail doesn't really go well with the dress. Maybe I shouldn't get it."

The sales clerk noticed a possible sale about away and spoke up. "Perhaps of you wear it up with some hair sticks in it? We have a nice selection right over there."

Hinata thought for a moment. Her mother had taught her how to wear her hair up years before. Then she nodded and went to go see what the store offered. Besides, she wanted to look nice for her boyfriend. She got a tingle in her belly when she thought of Naruto like that.

* * *

That evening back in the rooms, the teens compared notes on the day. Naruto failed to mention he had entered the poker tournament and Hinata also failed to mention the blue dress.

In the morning, Naruto said he had plans as he rushed out early before Hinata could work up the nerve to invite him to spend the day with her. She frowned but Sakura came in with a brochure for makeovers and practically dragged her along.

* * *

Naruto signed in and had to show his ninja headband more than once to various officials before he was taken to a waiting area. He noticed Tsunade was in a more VIP area than he was but he did not mind. If he got far enough in this, they would meet at the final table.

The day wore on and Naruto cleaned out the first table he was at quickly. He needed to wait around as the second round slowly filled up. He was surprised when Tsunade had advanced as well. Her reputation as being bad at gambling did not seem to apply in lower stakes contests.

Naruto was the first person to clear off his table in the second round. Tsunade advanced nearly as quickly as he did into the third round on the second day of the tournament. Since he didn't care about who he would be facing he headed out to find something to eat.

He was heading out of the hall when some press people stopped him.

"Sir, we noticed that you are in this tournament. Could you spare a few words?" one asked.

Naruto was nervous but responded. "Um, ok I guess."

Most of the people smiled. The losers in the tournament were all cranky coming out and were bad press. This kid seemed to be doing much better mood-wise but was still leaving early.

"How is the level of competition you faced today? Does anyone stand out in your mind?" one heavily made up woman asked him.

"Not too bad, I guess," Naruto said while scratching his face. "Most of the people I played against seemed kind of boring." He was wary at first but decided he should not mention his being a ninja. It was not illegal to be one but many times he had been told to keep a low profile and not advertise his skills if possible.

"You're kind of young to be in a tournament like this. Is it your first one and what do you think of it?" asked a man.

"Yes, it's my first tournament. I was staying in town a few days and decided to enter. So far it's been fun," he responded with a grin.

"So who do you think is going to win it now that you are out?" asked a man in the back.

"Oh, I'm still in it. I just finished early. They only had two elimination rounds scheduled today."

The reporters looked at each other as Naruto took the opportunity to wander off.

Tsunade was enjoying herself immensely. This tournament setup allowed her to only pay once and play with chips instead of cash on each hand. The nervousness she normally felt when being up on money was absent and her ability at reading other players and using her 'assets' to distract them came into play. Her cleavage could even distract other women she faced. She quickly got through the first round but had some trouble in the second when she found her opponent was a flamboyant gay man in over the top clothing that hurt the eyes to look at. It took her some time to wear him down but in the end, her skill and luck managed to get her to advance.

After the round, the man talked to her. "Honey, you are one of the best players I have ever faced at cards. Most people are intimidated or distracted by my outfits. It took everything I had just to stay even with you."

Tsunade smiled at the compliment.

"You have to tell me your name, Honey," the man pressed.

After a few moments of weighing the consequences she replied, "Senju Tsunade."

The man gasped in astonishment. "Senju Tsunade! You're the Legendary Su-uurrrk."

"Finish that sentence and I finish squeezing," she said with flames dancing in her eyes and her hand on his throat.

"Sannin," the man whimpered out. "I meant to say Sannin."

Tsunade let go of the man who gasped and rubbed his throat as Tsunade strode out in a bad mood now.

* * *

Jiraiya held the results of the Cloud Chunin Exams and grinned. He knew the kids would do well and the list of recommended promotions proved him correct. He called in both of the old teammates of his sensei to show them.

"It seems that the Cloud Finals results are in. All three of the apprentices were given unanimous recommendations for chunin. I assume neither of you will raise an issue politically when I approve of the list as is?" he asked them with a gleam in his eye.

Homura shook his head no and Koharu did the same before replying. "We realize it would be stupid to stop such a thing as the Cloud has announced the results publicly. It would be a waste of time to try to protect the boy by hiding him now. It is, however, in Konoha's best interests to see that the team reaches its maximum potential as soon as it can. We would suggest that the team get harder missions commensurate to their new rank."

Jiraiya arched an eyebrow, "Why the change of heart? It isn't like you to be so pragmatic."

Homura replied this time. "Reality, Jiraiya. If we cannot keep the boy safe by keeping him hidden, then we should keep him safe by him being the scariest most deadly ninja in the Elemental Countries. The jonin reports from the Finals spoke of him facing down the brother of the Raikage and showing his power in public. Besides, that kind of publicity cannot be brought. Daimyos and wealthy customers will pay a premium for him to be on missions now," he finished with a smirk.

Jiraiya chuckled at that. "Good enough. Oh, have you heard about the grandkids lately? The latest reports from the Academy have Udon and Moegi teaming up with little Konohamaru and making a team of their own. It seems the Ino-Shika-Cho team is not the only one to span generations."

Koharu frowned. "I had heard about it. They seem to be emulating the Uzumaki boy as well and being pranksters together. I tried to speak to my son about it but he thinks it is cute and likes my granddaughter's new work ethic."

"Well, I have been thinking of giving them a little assignment. An early D-Rank mission to see how well they do as a team," Jiraiya said. "I'll be meeting them later on today."

The elders frowned and left after a few minor pleasantries.

Later in the day, Jiraiya waited outside a small house in a quiet neighborhood as the Konohamaru Corps arrive in a cloud of dust. At seeing the Hokage waiting the trio all stood at attention.

Jiraiya smirked and went to 'Hokage Mode', "At ease kids. I have a job for you three and I am glad Iruka got you here on time. You three are getting an early start on missions and if you do well, it will reflect favorably on you. Your mission is to clean this house inside and out, from top to bottom and to take care of the landscaping."

Konohamaru's face fell and Moegi and Udon took on similar looks of shock.

"But Hokage-sama, why give something like this to us?" Moegi whimpered out.

"I thought of you three first since this house will be the property of one Uzumaki Naruto and I could not think of a better team to put on the job," Jiraiya said with a smile.

"This is the Boss' house?" Konohamaru asked.

"It will be when he gets back to town," Jiraiya said with a smile. "But, I want you to keep that fact a secret until after he sees it. Even from your grandparents because that would ruin the surprise," he finished with a mild glare at Moegi and Udon.

Konohamaru nodded eagerly and his teammates mirrored it. "For the Boss, we'll get this place spotless!"

Jiraiya smiled at the kids and led them into the house.

* * *

Elsewhere in Konoha, another surprise meeting was taking place. Iruka was grading tests when a knock on his door. He had not been expecting anyone and answered it. To his amazement, it was Anko.

"Um, Hi Iruka-kun, do you have a minute?" she asked in a quiet voice.

The teacher was shocked by the woman's subdued tone and lack of usual exuberance.

"Yeah, come on in," he said and led her back to his desk.

Anko looked around the room and was so nervous that Iruka got worried. "Anko? What's up?"

"Well, things between us have been so great lately and all, I didn't want to ruin them" she started lamely.

Iruka got worried then. "Are you breaking up with me, Anko?" he asked quietly.

Anko got a look of panic and shook her head no then whimpered out, "I'm pregnant."

* * *

That evening, Tsunade was relaxing in the hot tub when she heard shouts coming from the living room. She splashed her way out of the water and put on a robe that barely covered her. She came out to see both girls yelling at Naruto.

"You're in the poker tournament and we have to find out on the TV?" Sakura yelled at the blonde boy.

Hinata just had a hurt look on her face and remained silent after her initial outburst from seeing her boyfriend on the TV.

Naruto held out his hands before him trying to explain.

"I did it on a whim, Sakura. I figured it would be something to try since you and Hinata were out shopping all day and having girl time. I didn't think I would get past the first round and I could have some fun," he said while half cowering.

Hinata just turned and went to the girl's room.

"You idiot! You should have told us!" Sakura yelled once more. "If you had, then we wouldn't be mad right now!"

"But Hinata didn't look mad," protested Naruto.

"You jerk. You're supposed to be her boyfriend now and you blew it. She wanted to spend the day with _you_ but you ran out of here this morning before she could even ask you. She was upset about it all day," Sakura snarled.

Naruto was shocked. He had little clue what it meant to be a boyfriend. "I didn't know," he said lamely as Sakura left him standing there.

Tsunade wrapped the robe tighter around her body seeing Naruto's face as he stood there. "Naruto, come with me," she said and beckoned for him to follow. He stumbled after her to her room.

Naruto sat looking lost as Tsunade pulled out a bottle of sake. She poured a cup for him and told him to drink. He just looked until she told him again more firmly before he drank the alcohol.

"Okay. Now as drinking buddies, we can talk. I noticed you are having some girlfriend problems," Tsunade said as she settled down in a chair with her own drink.

"I'm supposed to be Hinata's boyfriend now and I just was doing the same thing I always do and I seem to be screwing up. I … I really don't know what a boyfriend is supposed to do," he finished.

Tsunade just nodded. "It's a hard thing, gaki. You never had an example to follow, did you? Then that old perv as the only male role model, I can see how you are confused." The older woman thought before speaking again.

"Being a boyfriend means you try to think of the girl first. You make sure she is happy and content with things before you go running off to do your own thing. It takes a lot of talking for the pair of you to work, more so for ninja. There is a lot more than that but most communication is the biggest thing right now. The two of you don't talk much about being together, do you?"

Naruto just shook his head no.

"Both of you are so painfully shy about personal relationships, I should have seen that one a long time ago," Tsunade said with a chuckle. "I guess none of your teachers was very good in that regard. Hmm, let's see. Growing up an orphan, no luck there. Sensei, an old guy but not too warm. Iruka, more repressed than you and grew up just as alone. Then Anko, me and the perv. You, gaki, got the worst teachers possible for having a good solid relationship."

If anything, Naruto looked more despondent.

"But you are in luck. I'll go talk to the girl on your behalf this time. Not like Anko who sided with her last time you goofed up. Just remember to talk to her, Naruto. Being boyfriend / girlfriend is a step up over being just friends like you have been. It takes more work but it is worth the effort," Tsunade finished with a smile and shooed the boy out of her room before heading to talk to Hinata.

Naruto sat in his room and could hear the girls talking through the wall. He couldn't make much out but after a time the talking stopped. Soon after, there was a knock on his door. He opened it to see Hinata standing there looking nervous.

"Can I come in, Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure," he said and stepped back so she could enter.

"Door stays open! I have no intention of talking to Hiashi about anything," called out Tsunade from the living room.

Hinata had sat on the edge of the bed beside Naruto when Naruto spoke first. "Sorry I didn't tell you about the plans I made. I guess I'm not good at being a boyfriend yet."

"No, I think you are. I just am not sure about things myself," Hinata said in her quiet voice.

Both teens were nervous until she lunged up and kissed him.

Naruto felt his heart pound and he kissed back as well as he could until a lack of breathing and the stress of the moment caused both to get woozy.

Neither one noticed the flash of a camera or heard the evil chuckle of Tsunade. She muttered, "Perfect blackmail material."

* * *

The morning came and Naruto entered the casino poker hall along with Tsunade and the girls trailing behind. Spectators were allowed today as after this last round of eliminations, the final table would be decided. Tsunade got more attention as her reputation as a big time loser at all forms of gambling was well known to professionals in the field. Naruto got some notice from the crowd but no one paid him much mind. Hinata was smiling the whole time. All she could think about had been waking up cuddled close to Naruto and his arms wrapped around her that morning.

Naruto sat at his table with seven others as the first hand was dealt. It was his worst deal so far in the tournament. He had learned early on that even a bad deal did not mean much and that seeing the first two common cards in Hold 'Em was a good idea. One man pushed the bet on the first hand and Naruto saw it. He would wait to decide.

He held his grin as he found himself with two pairs. Maybe today would not be so bad after all.

Tsunade grinned seeing her first deal; an Ace and Queen of the same suit with another Ace showing on the table. She pushed more chips into the pot and the experienced players called immediately. Her reputation was working for her today. She snickered under her breath, "Lambs to the Slaughter."

The play in the third round was more intense than the first rounds the previous day. All of the players except for Naruto were very experienced and it showed. In spite of this, the boy continued to build his pile of chips as player after player at his table was eliminated. The final player he faced was a large man with a bushy mustache and an unlit cigar in his teeth.

"You got some big ones boy. But now it comes down to us. By my count, you have a small lead on chips but that will change soon enough," the man said. He looked at his cards. There was little numerical chance for the boy to win. There were three cards in the deck that would make the man lose and one was on the table from another person's fold.

"I go all in," the man said confidently. The dealer could not believe how soon the man was going for the kill but waited on Naruto. The boy looked at his hand before replying, "I call."

The chips were counted and Naruto was holding a singe chip after the dealer counted things up and the rest sat in the pot. The man showed his cards and grinned as the crowd applauded until Naruto flipped over his pair of cards. Naruto had the exact cards he needed to win the hand and the seat at the final table. The crowd applauded louder for Naruto and Hinata in a fit of excitement hugged him in public and kissed his cheek.

Photographers on hand got many candid pictures of that moment.

Tsunade heard the crowd roar at another table and she looked at her own cards. Her opponent was sweating and waiting for the buxom blonde's luck to run true to form. "All in," she said and the man called immediately. She turned her cards and the man paled. Tsunade had won.

During the break before the final table sat, Naruto was eating at the buffet for the tournament participants. Hinata was sitting beside him while Sakura and Tsunade were across from him at a table. The blonde woman was glaring at the blonde boy.

"You realize no one expected you to get this far in the tournament?" she asked him.

Naruto smiled and swallowed before talking.

"Me either," he grinned. "I expected to get knocked out in the first round. But this is fun."

Tsunade shook her head in disgust. "Only you could go to a poker tournament and get the final table on sheer luck. How did you learn to gamble anyhow?"

"Watching you and Pervy Hokage play cards," the boy said with an even bigger grin. "I learned that you normally play really bad and if I did the opposite, I should win."

Tsunade growled loud enough that the boy took off running with the only pause being long enough to grab his plate of food.

* * *

The final table sat seven players and the dealer. Naruto hoped to sit as far from Tsunade as he could. Fortunately, the seating arrangement had two other players between them. All the players began with the same number of chips, having gathered them at the tables they had won at in the previous rounds. The House decided that in a high stakes game like this, each deck would be retired after five hands and a new one in a different color used. The cards were then verified by count and content. This minimized things that ninja could do to the cards to mark them. Cheating had never been an issue to this point but the casino owner wanted to be certain.

A woman from the Land of Tea was the first to fall. She lasted for a half dozen hands before a bad bet ruined her stake. An all in on the following hand in an attempt to recoup her losses proved just as devastating. To the shock of many, Tsunade won that particular hand.

The game continued rapidly after that. Either Naruto or Tsunade would win most of the hands. Two more players fell out having never won a hand. The audience was begging to buzz as a fourth player was close to elimination.

Naruto stared as the fat man from the Land of Wind pondered a bet. Tsunade had folded at the deal on this hand so he did not worry about her messing up this hand. She had the overall chip lead and was smirking openly at Naruto's smaller pile of chips. He needed to bust one of these remaining two players to draw even with her.

"All in," the fat man called at last. The merchant from the Sea Country folded and the call came to Naruto. He looked at his hole cards and then to the three common cards on the table. He was sitting with two pair already. The fat man twitched a little bit while Naruto took his time. 'He is trying to steal one here I think,' Naruto realized.

"Call," Naruto said. The dealer tallied the pot and made a serious dent in Naruto's remaining chips. Both players had to put their hole cards up for all to see. The man gave a wide grin as he placed his cards down. He had faked a 'tell' on Naruto and the teen could see the straight. His own two pair could not beat that.

However, with two more common cards to be revealed, Naruto still had a chance. The dealer flipped the first card and the crowd groaned. The last card flipped to a cheer from most viewers. Naruto had made a full house and won. The fat man nodded his head to Naruto graciously in spite of his frown.

Tsunade promptly won the next hand and this left pressure in the merchant. His chip stack was only going to get him through one more hand unless he won. The man decided to go all in immediately on the deal. Naruto immediately matched the bet while Tsunade thought about things. She took the time to count her chips as she pondered her options. After over a minute, she declined to bet.

There were groans and polite applause when the merchant lost. Naruto smiled and shook the man's hand.

Tsunade held up her hand before the dealer could make the next deal.

"Naruto, right now, I have about two hundred more chips than you. How about we skip the back and forth and settle this in one hand?" she asked.

Naruto looked at the casino owner who nodded his approval of the idea. Ending a poker tournament in dramatic fashion always made tournaments memorable. He also did not want to wait for hours while the pair of them vied for the remaining chips the other had.

The dealer called for a new deck for the final hand in spite of it only being two deals old. The previous deck was red and a quick count revealed all fifty two cards present. After a quick shuffle of the new deck, the dealer passed the cards to each player.

"Both players will hold their cards hidden until all the common cards are revealed," the dealer instructed.

Tsunade almost fainted at seeing her cards; the Ace of Diamonds and the Ace of Hearts. She smiled and waited.

The dealer flipped the first three common cards. The crowd murmured at the sight; the Three of Hearts, the King of Clubs and Ace of Spades. The fourth card to be shown was the Ace of Clubs. The fifth and final card shown was the Ten of Clubs.

The blonde woman could barely restrain herself from jumping up and shouting in glee. As it was her bet, she had to show her cards first. She managed to look casual as she turned her pair of red Aces giving her Four of a Kind. The crowd was cheering and she gave a nervous smile. For a moment is seemed that her luck had turned for once in her life until Naruto turned over the Jack and Queen of Clubs; giving him a Royal Flush.

She had lost once more.

Tsunade closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The boy had more luck than she ever would. She clutched at her chest for a moment when an idea came to mind. IF he had luck like that, maybe he could overcome the curse. She had come to believe in the boy in the time she had known him. It was time to have faith that she was right.

"One more hand, Naruto," she said softly.

Naruto looked at her as Tsunade opened the top of her blouse and pulled out a green gemstone on a long necklace. He just looked stunned as did Hinata and Sakura. People who followed gambling gasped loudly as many recognized the necklace. It was the necklace of the First Hokage, Tsunade's grandfather. Its value was estimated so high it could bankrupt most countries in the elemental nations just to buy it. People also knew that even when she was broke that Tsunade never bet it, ever.

"My grandfather's necklace against your winnings in the tournament," she said in a low voice.

Naruto was quiet. He didn't want to bet with her on a personal level. The crowd was silent as he cleared his throat.

"Tsunade, what if you lose? I don't want if between us. I mean, a tournament is one thing. This is personal," he said lightly.

She was touched but she needed to push this into a different realm where he would accept the bet.

"What's wrong, Naruto? Chickening out? Being a coward in front of your new girlfriend too?" she taunted while she smirked. She knew all of his emotional hot buttons and which ones to push now.

"I'm not a coward! You want to lose that thing then fine, I'll bet!" Naruto said in spite of his slight blush at Tsunade calling out Hinata as his girlfriend in public like that.

"One hand. Our cards hidden until after the common cards are dealt. Since I made the bet, I turn mine first," Tsunade said calmly.

Naruto nodded as the dealer shuffled a new deck and dealt two cards to each player. He then dealt out five cards face up; a pair of jacks, a queen, a ten, and a five.

Tsunade calmly turned her cards. She showed a queen and a two. "Two pair," she said.

Naruto had not even looked at his cards yet. He was just looking at the cards. After a half minute had passed, the crowd was getting nervous when Naruto flipped over his cards. He showed a king and a seven. Beyond the common pair, he had nothing.

Tsunade had won.

The blonde woman just looked. She had expected her luck to remain bad and give ownership of the necklace to Naruto. She kept a straight face as she turned to the casino owner and pulled out a list of her debts.

"Could you take charge of the winnings and see that the people on this list are paid? Then have the balance delivered to my room later," she told him.

The owner nodded quickly and turned to take care of things.

Naruto spoke to the dealer. "Could I have the deck as a souvenir?" he asked politely.

The dealer picked up the cards from the table and slid the deck into a box. Before they were handed over, the dealer had a machine punch a hole through the deck. This would prevent the cards from being used in the casino in the future. Naruto slid the cards into his pocket as people all around were offering sympathy over his win and subsequent loss of the jackpot.

He smiled at Hinata who hugged him as they made their way out. He didn't notice a pair of brown eyes watching him as he left.

* * *

The rest of the stay in the casino was uneventful for the group. Hinata thought she needed to make Naruto feel better after his loss but she found he was normal. He just smiled and said he had fun and had only lost out on his original entry fee. The Hyuuga heiress could only shake her head at his logic but she agreed that from a certain point of view, that was true. They spent their days together walking around town and holding hands. They did manage an hour in the hot tub together. Both teens wore swimsuits and Tsunade was sitting in the room with them keepintg them out of trouble.

Sakura spent time growling at the few older males who approached her. It seems her pink hair was getting her the wrong kind of attention. Naruto and Hinata had to stop her from punching a teenage boy who asked an inappropriate question. Naruto didn't get it as it mentioned carpet. Hinata declined explaining _that_ particular reference to him. With the bad experiences she was having, the girl was seriously starting to consider giving up on men completely at this rate.

After a week, Tsunade decided she had enough fun gambling and for the first time she left a casino in the daytime and without a disguise. The tournament winnings had erased the remainder of the debts that the Third had not paid off. She giggled like a teenager when she told her girls that they needed to be there when she told Shizune. Her original apprentice might need medical attention when she learned that fact.

The first night on the road back to Konoha, Tsunade took Naruto to the side. "We are going to play some cards, Naruto," she said as she dragged the boy to a bar without the girls. She got a bottle of sake and drank a few gulps before she began.

"Cards," she said simply as she held out her hand to him. He realized she wanted the deck from the final hand. Slowly, he pulled it out and handed it over.

She slid the cards out of the pack without looking at them. She slowly shuffled them as she spoke. A pair of cards fell out of the deck. A jack and a nine without holes punched in them lay on the table.

"Those would have given you three of a kind. How did you cheat, Naruto?" she asked quietly.

"Shadow clones henged to look like the cards. I palmed to cards I had," he replied.

"I admit that it was slick but you're still a novice. I could see at least four other people there including the casino owner and the dealer notice it. The closed circuit TV didn't notice it thankfully, but you cheated to lose. So they didn't say anything."

"Why?" she finished setting the deck on the table.

"I know what that necklace means to you," he said simply. "It was your grandfathers and is worth more than an emperor's ransom."

"There is more to it than that, Naruto. Twice before I have given it away. Both people I gave it to had something in common. Both wanted to be Hokage and I believed in them. I believed that they could be Hokage one day. The first was my little brother, Nawaki. He died days after I put it around his neck. The necklace was returned to me."

"The second was Shizune's uncle, Dan. I would have married him if he had not died in battle only a few weeks after I gave it to him. Once more the necklace returned to me."

"Now, I was prepared to let it go once more to someone I believed could be a Hokage. I felt you will be more than capable one day. But, you did something I didn't expect. You acted on my behalf and gave up enough money to make you very wealthy."

"I have enough money for my needs, Ba-chan," Naruto replied with a smirk.

"Aunt now; not granny? What brought that on?" she asked idly.

Naruto shrugged. "Calling you granny is dangerous for my health. Plus, it's more respectful than cousin. Your grandmother was an Uzumaki. She's in my book."

"I know she was. She was my grandmother after all. Just like I knew about your mom and watched out for her when I could, so did my grandma," Tsunade said with a slight smile. "Now, enough trying to change the subject. Why lose on purpose?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "You are known all over a being the biggest loser at gambling in history. But this time, you were having luck that you never had before. You mentioned once, when things go good for you, something bad happened after. So I figured at that last hand, you deserved to have the glory once. You were willing to give up something more valuable to you than life itself. To me, it was just money. Money would get me a lot of friends but they would only be money friends, not like Hinata, or Sakura or you or Pervy Hokage or Anko."

"But for you, it would be something more than just money. It would be that you could win in front of people. You could get all the respect that winners get for once. You have had enough bad stuff in your life that you deserve something good."

Tsunade just nodded slowly. She put the two cards on top of one another and pulled a third card off the deck. She carefully placed it over the whole cards. She stood up and walked to the bar behind Naruto. The blonde boy was tempted to look but something slid over his head. The green gemstone glittered in the dull light as Tsunade let it hang before his face for a moment before sliding it under the collar of his jacket.

"This is yours. You earned it and I think one day you will be a fine Hokage. You already act like one more than you know."

She reached an arm around him. He could see it holding a bar straw. She slammed the straw down through the hole in the top card, the pair of whole cards and into the table underneath.

"But, if you ever intentionally lose to me again, I am going to have to see about changing my mind. Got it, gaki?" she whispered in his ear.

Naruto just whimpered a quiet, 'Uh huh' as Tsunade sauntered out. He tried to pull the straw out but found it embedded too deep for him to remove. He slid the three cards off the straw and put the deck away. The now matching deck was slid into his pocket.

The rest of the trip home was quickly finished in a day.

Jiraiya looked at the apprentices with a satisfied grin on his face. Just to rub things in, he invited the teammates of Sarutobi to see the presentation. One by one, Naruto, Sakura and Hinata received chunin vests. The smiles on their faces told him more than their voices could. He asked Naruto to remain behind while everyone else was dismissed.

"Come walk with me, Naruto," Jiraiya said with a smug grin as he grabbed his Hokage hat and led the way out of the office.

The white haired man led his apprentice to a quiet neighborhood close to the Senju district. "Well, here we are," Jiraiya said with a smile.

Naruto looked to see a small house. It did not look like much. He looked at his teacher with confusion.

Jiraiya chuckled. "Remember a few months ago, you asked me to look into getting you a place to consider starting a family? Well, this place is perfect for that. In fact, the family who was supposed to be here never had the chance. It was you parents house Naruto. Now, it's yours. Welcome home, my boy,"

Next Chapter: Time Passing By, A Hokage's Diary.

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* * *

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End Notes:

Kind of an anticlimactic ending here but this one was to wrap up the arc and to put the story on a break. Rather than continuing to force myself to write on this and risk lowering quality, I decided to finish off where I was at since it was a decent jumping off point to move forward. I am not calling the story complete but the next chapter will be a several months in coming. I plan on continuing this with the Akatsuki entering into things but I doubt anything will be up before Thanksgiving. I need to plot out and get to writing where I want this story to go. I have ideas but nothing set in outline yet.


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